Love Will Find A Way
by lucyrose4
Summary: She wanted to run away from it all. She needed to escape. An escape was the only way they could both move on with their lives. Yes, she was in denial; secretly lying to herself by believing that she had finally escaped her past. Laurel Lance would soon realize that there was no such thing as an escape from life, and she was going to learn that in the hardest way imaginable. O/L, AU
1. No One Said It Was Going to Be Easy

**_N.B.: You are more than welcome to review, message, or ask me anything, but I ask that you please be NICE (kindness makes the world go round). If you decide to take time to read this story, then thank you; I truly appreciate and love you for it._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners._**

**_This story is AU. A lot of the events in season one did occur, but there are still quite a few modifications in this story which make it AU. Takes place after the season one finale._**

* * *

Oliver Queen walks into St. John Memorial ignoring the chaos that surrounds him. He was focused on finding his best friends, Tommy Merlyn and Laurel Lance. He was somewhat badly injured, the blood from his fresh wounds staining several areas of his shirt. Felicity had tried her best to take care of his injuries as best as she could. However, he knew that once Laurel saw him, he would not be able to dodge her questions easily, and at this particular moment, he did not care. When he finally reached the second floor waiting area, he tried to look for her through the chaotic atmosphere that greeted him upon exiting the elevator. Once he saw her, he took a deep breath. Seeing any image of her brought him peace. He could see that she was devastated. She looked a mess.

When she finally looked up, their eyes locked. Oliver walked closer to her, seeing the devastation in her eyes the minute his eyes met hers. Her eyes were swollen and slightly red, with a circle of darkness around them. The tears had not stopped from the minute she thought Tommy had perished. The tears did not stop even when she finally saw his lifeless body buried in the rubble after forcefully letting go of her father's embrace to run inside the damaged building. Her cries became stronger upon entering. When she had finally managed to go inside, she had knelt down over Tommy's still body. Taking his face into her hands, she remembers telling him, begging him, not to leave her. When her father had finally gotten to her, he let her grieve as they waited for help to arrive. Everything that happened after that was a blur to her.

"Laurel." It was the first thing he could say to her once he had finally made it to where she was sitting. There were so many people in the waiting area. The devastation was excruciatingly palpable. Everyone in that waiting room had suffered some sort of traumatic loss or pain.

Once she heard him calling her name, she stood up, immediately falling into his arms. He held her tightly, loving how comfortable and soft she felt in his arms. It was as if she was built to perfectly fit in his arms.

When she slightly pulled herself away from his embrace so that she could look into his eyes again, she saw just how shattered he was. After all, Tommy was his best friend. Tommy was his brother. They had known each other since they were babies. Laurel had entered their lives in grade four and the three of them had developed a strong friendship since that crazy first day of school together.

"Ollie…" A fresh set of tears fell again. For a moment, she actually thought she would lose him. The damage that had come from Malcolm Merlyn's terrorist act had left nearly the entire city in shambles. She was not able to fathom the idea of losing him again, however, just a few hours prior, she had thought that there was a high possibility that she would lose him. The death count was at 130, with 300 injured. However, the speed at which those numbers were increasing brought a sickness to her body that just escalated the devastation she was already experiencing.

"How's Tommy?" She knew just how hard it was for him to ask her that. The pain and heartache that came from his voice felt like a knife had stabbed her in the heart.

"He is still in surgery. I haven't heard anything yet. It has been four hours already and…" Her crying started as soft and calm, but then quickly became more intense, so much so, that she could not continue to speak. Oliver brought her closer into his arms. Resting her head on his chest, just below his shoulder, he brought his right hand up to her head, his fingers interlocking through her auburn brown hair.

He did not know how to respond. He did not know how he could tell her that everything would be okay, because, truthfully, he was not sure if things would ever be okay. The only thing he could think of that would bring a slight comfort to the situation was to be there for Laurel and Tommy. He really could not do anything else.

He felt her head move, so he detached his hand from her tresses. She was looking deeply into his eyes again. There was just something so comforting, so peaceful, so therapeutic about her eyes. They always had a way of making his heart melt. The beautiful ocean blue eyes that would make Oliver feel at peace every single time, even for the slightest second, were one of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place.

For a moment, he was frozen in time. Her left hand had come up to feel the wound on his shoulder. It was not until she tried to put her hand under the fabric of his shirt that she felt the fresh blood leave a stain on the tips of her fingers. Oliver was brought straight back to reality the minute she had pressed the fresh wound. Her touch of the wound brought a sharp, shooting pain throughout his entire body.

"Oliver, we need to get you seen by a doctor. Oh my god, your shirt is covered with blood, Ollie, we need to get you checked out." She was now feeling all of the areas that had left their mark on his shirt.

When he felt her try to move away from him, he knew she was about to get medical attention, however, his much stronger hand grabbed a tight hold of her wrist to stop her from making any movement. "Laurel, I'm fine, Felicity helped me take care of these injuries. I'll be fine."

"Felicity? The 'Internet router' girl? Is she a medical professional?" He had not realized what he had revealed to her, however, it was far too late to backtrack, especially with Laurel, who could see through him like no one else. John Diggle would have been a more believable lie.

"Laurel, I'm fine, I promise." He saw the dissatisfaction in her eyes. She knew he was not telling her the entire truth. He was saved from further interrogation when Detective Lance had walked up to them. He immediately let go of Laurel so that she could fall into her father's arms. He watched how tightly and lovingly he held onto his daughter. Despite their differences, Oliver knew that Quentin was a very good father. Quentin's presence also just saved him from further interrogation from Laurel.

"Queen, you okay? You look like hell." Quentin said, still holding Laurel. It surprised Oliver that Quentin Lance actually cared about his well-being. Quentin knew that right now, at this moment, everyone needed to come together so that they could somehow lift each other up after such immense heartache and destruction.

"Yeah, I'm fine…I'll be fine. How are you holding up?" Oliver was anything but fine and he sure was not going to be fine later, but he needed to be strong, for Laurel and for Tommy.

"Thankful that my baby girl is okay…" He laid a kiss atop his daughter's forehead and his voice started to crack as he spoke.

"Ms. Lance?" They could hear a male's voice interrupt them. They all turned to face the man to which the voice belonged. Laurel and Oliver almost did not want to hear what Dr. Lamb was going to say next. They were not naïve. They could both see the look in the doctor's eyes: He was not bringing them any good news.

* * *

It took every ounce of his being not to run back to Laurel and hold her in his arms as she cried hysterically after Dr. Lamb had spoken to them. He and her father had held her as she let all of her heartbreak take over her. They both felt so helpless, so useless. They could not bring Tommy back, and that made them feel like they were both failing her.

"Is Thea okay?" Felicity who was seated at one of the desks, in the basement of Verdant (his secret lair), had asked once she heard his footsteps walking down the stairs.

"Yeah, she's home now; she and Roy will be fine." She could see the pain on his face. He was broken, shattered, and there was nothing she could do or say to make him feel better.

She watched him sit at the edge of one of the tables, burying his face in his tired hands, like someone who had just suffered a terrible loss to an impossible battle.

"Tommy…" Felicity started. She saw him lift his head up to stare right through her eyes.

"Let's not talk about Tommy." She had never heard his voice filled with so much anger and anguish. His voice was firm and cold.

There was a short silence before she spoke. "Oliver, how about you get some rest. Even if it's just for three hours…Just get some rest." She had now walked over to where he was seated, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I need to get back to Laurel. To Tommy…" His voice was slightly trembling.

"I know, you will, but you need to rest first. You can't be there for them if you risk your health in the process. Just three hours, I promise I will wake you up myself."

"And you still don't know just how stubborn he can get. You've known him for what, 10 months now?" Diggle's voice brought a slight lightheartedness to the dark atmosphere in that basement.

"How are Carly and A.J.? And I know he's stubborn, but he listens to me more than he listens to you." She whispered the last part as John Diggle was now standing in front of Oliver and beside Felicity. They were both trying to bring some lightness to the darkness that had become so palpable all over their city.

"They're fine, thank God." He did not even want to ask Oliver if he was okay, he knew the answer to his question since Felicity had already called and told him that Tommy was still in surgery, however, that was all they knew about the state of Tommy's condition.

"I'm going to go back to the hospital. Felicity, you go to my house with Mom, Walter, Thea and Roy, and Diggle, bring Carly and A. J. there as well." They watched him quickly get off the table and then speed walk to the exit.

"I'm coming with you then." Felicity quickly ran to catch up with him. She had forced him to turn around, his height towering over her. They were just a few feet away from the staircase.

"No." It was a firm, 'no', but she was not going to back down.

"Well, if you are not going to rest, not even for three hours, which did you know is the length of one sleep cycle? Or, hey, not even just for 20 minutes, which, believe or not, is the best way to recharge your body if you are ever suffering from sleep deprivation and…So, yeah, no, I am coming with you, despite what you do or say." She completely stopped rambling after noticing the impatience that became evident on his face.

"Felicity…" Oliver was mad now.

"Too bad! I'm coming with you! No ifs, ands, or buts!" He was too weak to argue with her.

"I'll go and make sure Thea and Roy are safe and meet up with you guys after I drop off Carly and A.J. there too." Felicity gave Diggle a smile and a wave before catching up with Oliver who had already started to walk up the stairs.

* * *

The moment they had entered Tommy's room, Felicity could feel the sadness within the room penetrate her already aching heart. She could feel the pain that was evident in the atmosphere the minute she walked outside of Verdant. The feeling became even stronger when they reached the main lobby of St. John Memorial. She took a deep breath before noticing Laurel and Quentin upon entering Tommy's room.

Laurel had been awake for a good 40 hours until her body surrendered. From all the painful screaming and crying she had endured in that time, her body had finally let her down and could not possibly take anymore. With the bed rail down on Tommy's left side, she looked so peaceful with half of her body laying by Tommy's, her head resting in the crook of his neck. Felicity could see the tears that had left their mark on one of her visible cheeks. She could also see a few of the bruises and scratches that she had obtained from the disaster. She put a comforting hand on Oliver's back as a way to remind him that she was there for him.

Once Quentin saw them, he stood up from the uncomfortable chair that he had occupied before Oliver and Felicity had entered the room.

"Queen, Ms. Smoak." He walked closer to the doorframe so that he could stand next to Felicity. "They need me back at the station, Laurel told me to leave earlier, but I refused to leave her alone. She finally fell asleep a little over an hour ago…" His voice was tired and weak as he spoke. Quentin would definitely be in a lot of trouble later for not immediately returning to the station, however, his daughter was the most important person in his life, so he could care less what his police chief would do to him.

Felicity noticed the anguish and sadness in the older man's eyes. "Go back to the station, the people need you. We'll be here for Laurel, Detective Lance." Felicity said in the most comforting way possible.

Quentin gave her a sad smile. "Are you sure, I'll be back once…"

"Don't worry, we'll be here." Felicity gave him an adorable yet reassuring smile. After all, they had managed to work together to stop one of the earthquake devices set up my Malcolm. There had been a second device, but there was no denying that had they not worked so hard and well to stop one of the devices, the city would be in a far worse predicament.

"Thank you, I'll be back soon. Take care of my baby girl." Quentin gave her a caring smile and a soft pat on the shoulder before leaving them.

Once Quentin left, she noticed that Oliver had remained in the same position that he was in once they had entered the room. He looked frozen, his eyes on Tommy and Laurel, not even blinking once. His best friend was hanging on for dear life and he could not do anything to save him. Felicity did not want to say or do anything to get him to talk or move. She simply left his side and walked to where Laurel was sleeping.

This was the second time she had encountered Laurel, the first time she had seen just how beautiful she was. Now, watching her with her eyes closed, she saw just how broken the woman who had left an impeccable and remarkable impact on Tommy and Oliver's lives was. The painful atmosphere had finally caught up with her. Felicity could feel tears forming and she tried her very best to keep them from falling; she had to be strong for Oliver. She had to be there for Oliver. She closed her eyes tightly to prevent her tears from falling.


	2. Nothing Is As It Seems

**_N.B.: Firstly, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! _**

**_Secondly, the summary is slightly vague, but it is purposely supposed to be that way. The summary refers to Laurel and Felicity, but more so to Laurel, which is why I added her name only to it (made it even more confusing, I know-I promise, it will make more sense as I continue). Thirdly, I know this seems to be rare, but I absolutely love both Laurel and Felicity (I truly hope that they become friends on the show because I think their friendship would be epic). Also, I love Tommy and wish he was still on the show; could you imagine him and Felicity in the same scenes! How awesome would that have been? Fourthly, this story will seem to have a slow progression and the actual 'running away/escape' part will happen almost half-way into the story. _****_Lastly, this chapter is a little long, but I did not want to split it into two._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners._**

Chapter 2: Nothing Is As It Seems

The next few weeks felt like years because time, for some odd reason, seemed to be moving at a slower pace. As it happens with time, in the darkest hours, it seems as though each dark moment takes an eternity to pass. The Glades were still in shambles, and people were still in utter devastation over the immense loss and tragedy that they had all experienced.

Tommy was still in a coma and to add more bad news to Laurel, Oliver, and Thea's lives, Dr. Lamb had informed them that Tommy had requested the machines be turned off after 30 days if there was no change in his condition. As determined in his will, this was Tommy's wish, but Laurel and Oliver now felt even more helpless. They wanted more than anything for Tommy to wake up, both of them still holding on to the hope that Tommy would one day open his eyes and come back to them. However, it was now officially out of their control.

* * *

Felicity walked into the room with two coffees securely placed in a tray in one hand. She had visited every single day. She was there for Laurel and Oliver from the late afternoon hours until the late night hours. Some nights she would stay there, comforting Laurel as she cried for Tommy. The two women had barely spoken to each other during the visits, but Laurel also barely spoke to Oliver, Thea, Quentin, Moira, and Walter. She was closed off from the world, her grief consuming her entire body, being completely incapable of doing anything else but grieve for Tommy.

As each day passed, Felicity noticed the toll it had taken on Laurel. She was weaker, had lost quite an unhealthy amount of weight because she would barely eat, and her eyes had become so tainted from the painful tears that fell from them that if anyone were to look at her, they would think that she had not slept in over century.

Oliver too had suffered a great deal. It was less physically evident because he was trying to stay strong for Thea and Laurel, but he was slowly dying inside. He never cried in front of Laurel or Thea, however, Felicity knew that all of his grief and pain was slowly eating him up alive. She tried her best to be there for everyone. Yes, she did not know Laurel, but she meant a lot to Oliver and Oliver was her dear friend, so she was going to be there for Laurel no matter what.

Every time she walked into that hospital room, she would bring the chair that was on the opposite side of Tommy's bed to where Laurel's chair had been. It had become a routine: She would bring coffee, move a vacant chair to be close to Laurel, and comfort her while she grieved. She stopped speaking upon entering Tommy's room after the first week because she had finally realized that Oliver and Laurel were not in any mood to talk. She had also stopped getting Laurel to eat since she was clearly failing after time she had tried to get her to eat. She would only get a broken smile from Laurel and a light squeeze from Oliver whenever she grabbed his hand to comfort him.

Laurel had turned her head to face Felicity when she felt her pull up the chair to sit beside her. Felicity noticed something different this time when their eyes met. Her eyes were not stained with wet tears—the first time she had ever seen her eyes so dry—and she had actually turned to greet her.

"Felicity…" Laurel's voice was just above a whisper, as if she was too weak to speak in a louder tone. Felicity was still in utter shock to hear her voice. "Thank you." Laurel brought over her left hand to grasp Felicity's vacant one. Felicity could feel Laurel tightly squeeze her hand. She knew her tight grasp was out of gratefulness and caring.

Felicity did not speak; she simply tightened her grip of Laurel's hand and gave her a warm and loving smile. After a few minutes, Laurel let go of Felicity's hand and turned her attention back to Tommy, her other hand never letting go of his.

Felicity waited a few minutes before bringing the sliding table that was a few inches from where she was sitting, closer to Laurel and placed their coffees on it. Today was different. Laurel had actually spoken and she had finally heard her voice. The only thing that came out of Laurel were trembling cries, so, therefore, Felicity was truly thankful that Laurel had finally spoken actual words this time. It was not much, but it was enough for Felicity. The two women had developed a subtle but immense bond even though they had never really had an actual conversation with each other.

"Hi…" Thea had now entered the room with a pizza box in one hand and vase of yellow roses in the other. Whenever Thea visited, Felicity felt more at ease. Moira, Walter, Thea, Quentin, Roy, and Diggle were the only ones who spoke whenever they came to visit Tommy. Felicity was the only one who would refrain from speaking because she knew that Oliver and Laurel needed her presence more than her words.

"Hi." There was a smile on Laurel's face as she looked up once Thea had spoken. Thea herself turned to Felicity and gave her a questioning look. She was not sure what to do next. Felicity's comforting smile finally gave her the courage to continue speaking. "I brought pizza. It's a mushroom and olive pizza from Mario's, your favorite." Thea was not blind. She knew the toll the grief was taking on Laurel's health. She and Quentin would always come with food, hoping to get Laurel to eat more than a bite of whatever it was that they had brought. She did visit daily, but unlike Felicity, she never stayed for more than a couple of hours. It was hard for her to accept the fact that Tommy, who was like another brother to her, might leave them forever.

"That sounds delicious." Felicity added, bringing a soft hand to rub Laurel's back. "And it smells oh so heavenly too." Felicity gave Laurel a sweet smile once their eyes met as if she were waiting for Felicity to give her permission to say something.

A simple, 'Thank you', is all they got out of Laurel. They were also thankful that she had actually smiled a few times too. They were genuine smiles that showed just how truly relieved and thankful she was to have them by her side as she grieved and ached for Tommy.

About a half an hour later, Oliver had joined them too. He stopped in the doorframe when he caught the sight of the three women in front of him. Laurel was actually listening intently to Thea as she told them the funny story of her disastrous first date with Roy. He watched as Felicity smiled brightly and lightly chuckled. However, he noticed something different about Laurel. She was actually smiling genuinely and was actually completing a slice of pizza. Oliver, for the first time since seeing Tommy on that hospital bed, smiled. The sight that greeted him upon entering the room brought a feeling of comfort and warmth that put him at ease for just a moment. He was standing there for a few minutes before Laurel looked up to stare deeply into his ocean blue eyes. Their eyes met and they both gave each other a smile that made both of their hearts melt. This was the first time in weeks that they were looking at each other with nothing but positivity. Today was definitely different indeed.

* * *

"I'm so taking a picture of this. Look at them!" Thea said, as she and Felicity walked into Tommy's room. They had both decided to leave Laurel and Oliver with Tommy last night. Since, truth be told, Felicity too had not been sleeping well. Laurel had made sure that Thea take Felicity with her when she left. She had put Thea in charge of making sure Felicity had gotten a decent night's sleep and Thea gladly promised Laurel that she would look after Felicity. So, despite Felicity's hesitance, Thea somehow got Felicity to stay with her at the Queen Mansion, and for the first time in weeks, Felicity had actually slept for more than three hours.

Upon entering Tommy's room, they were presented with a lovely image of a sleeping Oliver and Laurel. Oliver was asleep on the uncomfortable hospital chair with Laurel on his lap, more than half of her body resting on his, her head so comfortably resting in the crook of Oliver's neck with Oliver's strong arms holding her upper body tightly and his head sweetly resting on hers.

"What are you doing?" Felicity whispered softly, making sure that she did not wake them. She stood by Thea as she pulled out her phone to take the picture.

"Well, so called 'I.T. genius,' this is a phone and I will be taking a picture with it. You see, cell phones nowadays magically do so much more because they are oh so smart." Thea whispered back. The evil look Felicity gave her actually made her chuckle lightly.

"Yes, I am pretty well aware of the advanced technology that comes from cell phones! I meant what are you doing, as in, we really should let them sleep, because, from what I have noticed these past few weeks, neither one of them is a light sleeper!"

"We're standing less than a foot away from each other… I'm pretty sure I can still hear you whisper; you don't have to whisper so close to my ear. Besides, thirty years from now, you'll be wondering what gift to get them for their wedding anniversary, but I, on the other hand, will have crafted some sort of photo art piece of some type to give to them, which will make my gift their favorite."

Felicity's eyes squinted. "Wow, and I thought I was the best at planning ahead. You know, my phone takes pictures too." Thea watched her take out her phone from her purse and rolled her eyes at the sarcastic look she was getting from Felicity.

"You so suck!" Thea exclaimed, shaking her head at Felicity who was also taking a picture of them.

"They look so adorable together..." Felicity smiled lovingly, still holding her phone up.

"Yeah, if only they weren't so damn stubborn…" Thea responded, however, there was a different tone in her voice. It sounded much sadder, as if she had just realized where they were and why they were there.

Bringing her phone back down, Felicity placed it back in her purse before turning around to face Thea.

"Three days…" Felicity knew what she was implying immediately.

"Thea…" She brought her arms around the younger women's body, engulfing her in a strong hug.

"In three days, if he doesn't…" Her tears prevented her from continuing. Thea always put a mask on that made her seem like she was a laidback and easygoing teenager with absolutely no care in the world. However, it was a mask that was hiding a teenager's broken heart. She was anything but happy and strong. She was suffering, just like her brother and Laurel.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. We have to stay positive and hope for a miracle. Miracles do happen, Thea, we just have to remain hopeful and positive, it's really all we can do." Felicity comfortingly rubbed Thea's upper back with the hope of trying to get her to calm down.

In three days, Tommy's machines would be turned off and as Felicity knew very well, he would slowly but surely leave his family forever. Sometimes, she hated being so smart because it made it that much harder to believe in hope instead of science. She knew what the statistics were. She knew that the odds of Tommy surviving and coming back to life were slim to none.

A strong crack of thunder is what interrupted the moment. Thea and Felicity ended their hug and were now facing Laurel and Oliver who had immediately separated and stood up on their feet upon seeing them. Laurel looked embarrassed as a light shade of pink started forming on her cheeks.

"Thea, Felicity..." Laurel greeted, her voice shaky from embarrassment. Once she noticed Thea's sad face, she immediately walked over to where she was standing. She was now standing in front of the younger woman, her arms grabbing Thea's. "Thea, sweetie, are you okay?"

Thea simply responded by falling into Laurel arms. Laurel comfortingly held her as she continued to let the tears that she had desperately been holding for weeks fall.

Oliver became concerned for his sister, so he joined his sister and Laurel. The two women felt his presence beside them. Thea immediately let go of Laurel and fell into her brother's arms. Oliver held his baby sister tightly.

Felicity brought a comforting hand to Laurel's back. Once Laurel felt Felicity's touch, she turned slightly to face the beautiful blonde and embraced her with a hug.

"Mr. Queen, Ms. Lance?" A nurse had interrupted their moment. Laurel let go of Felicity, however, Felicity kept her hand on Laurel's back so that it would somehow give Laurel strength. Oliver and Thea were still holding onto each other.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Dr. Lamb would like to speak to the two of you." The nurse informed them as she stood in the doorframe with a clipboard in her hands.

"I'll be right back, I promise." Oliver let go of his sister slightly so that he could place a kiss atop her forehead before letting her go to leave the room with the nurse and Laurel.

"Can I come too?" Thea asked, her voice filled with heartbreaking cracks.

"You don't have to come, we'll be right back. Stay here with Felicity." Oliver assured her.

"No, I would like to come too, if that's okay." Thea looked at the nurse who gave her a smile and then a nod.

"Are you sure?" Laurel asked as she placed an arm around Thea.

"Yes…" Thea responded. Laurel gave a hesitant Oliver a reassuring look until he finally took his sister by the hand and guided her to where the nurse was standing.

Before walking closer to the exit, Laurel looked at Felicity, a sad smile forming on her already grief stricken face. "Felicity, we'll be right back."

"I'll be here." Felicity responded, giving Laurel a caring smile.

When Oliver, Laurel, and Thea left with the nurse, Felicity took in her surroundings. She could hear the crack of thunder get louder as the rain had now become stronger and more powerful. She continued to slowly observe the room for a few more minutes until finally walking over to the chair that had been occupied by Oliver and Laurel just moments ago. Placing her purse on the windowsill behind her, she sat in the ever so uncomfortable chair. She took off her trench coat, letting it fall sloppily behind her.

In just three days, their entire world would become even worse than it already was. She studied Tommy. Even with all of the machines attached to his body, he looked so peaceful. She could not help but place her hands in the space between Tommy's left hand and the bed. His skin felt surprisingly warm and soft. Her heart broke just thinking of what his friends had gone through the past few weeks. She closed her eyes as she remembered the many times Laurel had cried in her arms in this very room. She also remembered how Oliver had finally let his emotions take the best of him when they had returned to Verdant after Quentin had offered to stay with Laurel four nights ago. She held him as he cried for his friend and repeatedly wished that he could switch places with Tommy.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a push on her hand followed by a slightly strong grip. Felicity immediately opened her eyes and her vision turned to her hand. Tommy was now holding her hand. Carefully, but fearfully, she slowly looked up, stopping at Tommy's head. Tommy's neck was moving, and she watched as he softly moved his head forward and back. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming. She immediately realized that this was not a dream when his eyes slowly struggled to open. Her blue eyes met his brown ones. Her eyes and mouth were now wide open, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Water…" He struggled to stay, his voice sounding as if he had swallowed a bunch of rocks.

"What…Water, right, because you're obviously thirsty, I mean that's usually what happens when people are in…Water…Right…I'm on it!" Letting go of his hand, she quickly grabbed the jug of water that was on his bedside table and the paper cup that was next to it and filled it with water. She got up to help him with it by placing her hand behind his neck as she tried to lift his head up slightly so that he could easily drink from the cup.

"Thank you…" She placed the cup back on his bedside table and adjusted his pillows so that his head could rest comfortably on them.

"You're welcome…" Felicity was still in somewhat of a state of shock.

"Tommy…" Laurel's slight scream startled Felicity. Laurel looked at Felicity as if she was looking for reassurance that this moment was actually real.

Felicity gave her a reassuring look. She then watched as Laurel immediately ran to Tommy's bedside, bent forward, and hugged him probably more tightly than was allowed.

"Ow…" It was all they could hear Tommy say as Laurel hugged him.

"Sorry…" Laurel laughed just as a fresh set of tears escaped her eyes. She lifted herself off him and grabbed a hold of his hands. She brought them to her lips and placed a soft kiss on each one.

"Welcome back, buddy." Oliver greeted, as he made his way over to where Felicity was standing. Oliver too was in complete shock. He gave his best friend a light pat on the knee before sitting on the opposite side of Tommy's bed.

"For a minute there, I thought I was in heaven." They all looked at Tommy as he struggled to speak. His voice was hoarse. "I mean, I open my eyes, and there's this really hot blonde girl beside me, holding my hand." Laurel and Oliver watched as he smiled; remembering just how much they had missed his adorable smile. Laurel immediately looked up at Felicity as he mentioned her. Laurel also saw a light shade of rosy red form on Felicity's cheeks as she blushed.

"Well, aren't you lucky to get such a beautiful sight to wake up to after all these weeks." Laurel added as she gave Felicity a friendly wink. Felicity could feel her cheeks go from a rosy red to a flaming burgundy.

"I'll go get the doctor..." Felicity shyly said as she started for the door.

"Wait, who are you, hot blonde girl?" Tommy asked as he continued to struggle with his breathing as he spoke.

"Uh…I'm…Um…Oliver's I.T., Queen Consol…"

"Her name is Felicity." Laurel and Oliver both spoke in unison, trying to help her.

"Felicity, wow, hot blonde girl has a pretty name too. So, we're in not heaven? Are you sure?" Felicity could feel her body temperature rise as her nerves quickly took over. She knew that by know, she looked like a bright red tomato.

"Yep, that's my name, Felicity Smoak. Felicity. Yep. Okay, I'll be right back." They watched as she nervously left the room. Oliver and Laurel could not help but laugh at the adorableness that could uniquely only come from Felicity Smoak.

"Wait until Thea sees you!" Laurel exclaimed, as her tears continued to fall.

"Okay, no tears, Missy. This is a happy zone, okay." Tommy kindly instructed.

"Sorry, these are happy tears, I promise." Laurel assured him as she continued to hold his hands.

"How do you feel?" Oliver asked, placing his hand back on Tommy's knee.

"Like I just ran a 100 mile marathon while having gigantic rocks being thrown at me." Tommy gave them another warm smile.

"Ouch...That's pretty painful." Oliver responded.

"Do you think the hot blonde girl will give me sponge baths? Please tell me she's my nurse?"

"Tommy…" Laurel sighed as she laughed at his bluntness. "Well, I guess his vocabulary has decreased back to, 'hot', and 'mega hot'."

"Ooh, let's say she's mega hot blonde girl then." Tommy added, looking back and forth at his two friends. "Where is Speedy, anyway?"

"Just talking to Roy; he had called her just a few minutes ago. She'll be here shortly." Laurel informed him.

"Roy. Well, someone has a new boyfriend then. I guess we'll have to give him our usual death threats, right Oliver?"

"No, you two are not driving Roy away! He's a good guy who really likes Thea." Laurel interjected. "This is not like the last time!"

"Mark Cohen? He did not deserve Thea. That boy was an ass and you know it." Oliver reminded her.

"They were eleven and you two scared the poor child to death."

"We did no such thing!" Oliver asserted.

"Really? So, I suppose you two showing him your grandfather's gun collection and telling him that if he ever so much as lay a finger on Thea, that you would use one of those guns to hurt him. That poor boy was traumatized and probably has been going to therapy ever since. I'm surprised you two weren't arrested." Laurel reminded them.

"He slapped Thea! That's was exactly what he deserved." Tommy argued, now slightly coughing as he spoke. Oliver quickly grabbed the cup of water that was back on his beside table and helped Tommy drink from it.

"He deserved worse; we went easy on him." Oliver added. The two men watched as Laurel's tear stained face gave them an evil look that they both knew all too well. "I know that look…" Oliver teased her.

"Evil Face has graced us with its presence." Tommy said as he and Oliver laughed.

"Leave it to Tommy and Oliver to make Laurel so mad, that's she's about to explode and lay a can of whoop ass on you two trouble makers." Thea interrupted their light moment as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Spee…Thea." Tommy said, calling her by her first name instead. He remembered how much she hated her nickname.

"Call me 'Speedy'." Thea corrected him. She knew just how much he loved calling her that. She would give in just this one time. Laurel made room for Thea to sit on the bed with them as well.

"Welcome back, Tommy Tom-Tom." Thea joked as she hugged him lovingly before sitting beside Laurel on the hospital bed.

"Tommy Tom-Tom?" Oliver, Laurel, and Tommy all questioned at once.

"What? I get a nickname, why can't I give him a nickname? Okay, I couldn't think of a better one, geeze!" They were now laughing at her humour.

"Tomster?" Oliver remarked.

"Dude, no, that one is L-A-M-E: Lame. What kind of nickname is that?" Thea said, as she placed her hand on Tommy's vacant knee.

"Better than 'Tommy Tom-Tom'." Laurel responded, giving Thea a devilish smirk at which Thea just rolled her eyes.

"Hey, it's mega hot blonde girl!" Tommy was the only one that noticed Felicity when she returned. They all turned after Tommy pointed it out. "I mean, Mega Hot Felicity."

"Come join us." Laurel finally let go of Tommy's hands and stood up to guide her to the bed.

"Yes, the more the merrier." Tommy said as he gestured with his hand for her to come and sit on the bed too.

"I'm really okay on the chair. Besides, the doctor will be here shortly." Felicity nervously said.

"No, we want you, pretty lady, on the bed with us." Tommy requested. "Did that sound inappropriate?" Thea and Laurel shook their heads at the humorous wit that uniquely belonged to Tommy.

"Felicity, ignore his bluntness, he only gets like this way around really beautiful girls." Thea informed her. Felicity was still recovering from all of the blushing. "Oh my goodness, you're embarrassing her. Poor thing…"

"This is Felicity. She's our tech genius and the newest addition to our friendly yet crazy family." Oliver informed Tommy as he got up to allow Laurel to sit in front of him on the bed while Felicity sat behind Thea on the other side.

"Pleasure to formally meet you, Tommy." Felicity responded. She held out her hand for him and he took it.

"Pleasure's all mine, Beautiful." Tommy responded giving her a sweet smile.

"You look a mess, Tommy Tom-Tom." Thea bluntly stated as Tommy pretended to be offended by her comment.

As Thea continued to joke around with Tommy and Felicity, Laurel turned around to look intently at Oliver. They were both thinking the same thing. Oliver stood up, gesturing for Laurel to do the same. Thea, Felicity, and Tommy barely noticed the two leave the room.

Oliver and Laurel stood outside of Tommy's room. It was a long and bright hallway, with only a few nurses walking back and forth. It was half past ten at night; this particular hospital floor usually got quiet at that time of day and less populated.

Laurel stood with her back to the wall as Oliver came closer to where she was standing. They were both staring deeply into each other's eyes. Laurel's next move surprised him. She immediately put her arms around him. It took him a good minute before he reciprocated and held her as tightly as possible.

"Ollie…" Her face was sad again. She created a small space in between their bodies so that she could look into his eyes. "He's awake. I'm not dreaming, right? He won't leave us or…"

Oliver brought his hand up to her face so that he could hold it lovingly as he spoke. "You're not dreaming. He's awake. I'm just not sure how much he remembers. He is miraculously alive, and right now, that's all that matters."

"Yeah, that's all that matters…" He was still holding her face in his hands when he placed a light kiss atop her forehead. "It's just…Dr. Lamb said…"

"Hey, listen, we'll wait until we see him again. Tommy was still in a coma when Dr. Lamb spoke to us. Let's just take this one step at a time, okay?" She gave him a long, worried look before finally agreeing. Honestly, they were truly not sure how to respond to the miracle that had occurred just a few moments prior. The only thing they could do was be utterly grateful that their hopes and prayers had finally brought Tommy back. Their Tommy was back, and they hoped with every ounce of their being that things could finally start to get better.


	3. At This Moment

_**N.B.: Again, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**So that it is easier for readers, I decided to add the main relationship to the summary and I changed the cover image. It has been subtly implied, hinted, and noted at certain points in the last two chapters that this is a LAURIVER story. **__**Therefore, to clarify, this is a LAURIVER and Tommy/Felicity (don't know what their ship name is, Telicity, perhaps?) story. Those are the main relationships. There will be Olicity friendship and Laurel/Felicity (Flaurel?) friendship. Again, since this is somewhat AU, Tommy has never met Felicity (although I'm pretty sure they also never really met each other on the show formally-not that it matters to this story though). Felicity is also a main character and a very important figure in Oliver and Laurel's lives, that is why I added her to the character list in the summary. Hope that clarifies a few things. I apologize if it was not as clear before. I do love Olicity, don't get me wrong, but I LOVE Lauriver more. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

Chapter 3: At This Moment

Three weeks after Tommy's miraculous return, things were slightly returning to normal. However, Starling City and its people still had a long way to go. Tommy had let Oliver and Laurel take care of his father's fortune. Tommy did not want a single penny of his father's money, so he had made sure that every bit of it went towards the recovery of the Glades. Oliver and Laurel had made sure to help him with all of the legal matters that were involved in granting his wishes. Tommy and Oliver's friendship had not been in the best state before the disastrous event, but right after Tommy had awakened, their friendship was finally back to its original state, except now it was even stronger.

After Tommy had awakened, Dr. Lamb had informed Laurel and Oliver that they were very lucky that Tommy had come out of the coma. He had told them that it was very rare for patients to come out of comas and when they did, they rarely managed to come out without some sort of disability or worse. Laurel, Thea, and Oliver were just very grateful that their Tommy had been that rare miracle.

Laurel, Oliver, Thea, and Felicity still visited Tommy daily, however, Tommy was now not just lying lifeless before them; he was awake and actively participating with them. Oliver's visits were shorter since he had offered to help his mother and Walter with Queen Consolidated, taking a position as the marketing director of the company. Laurel, on the other hand, was there every step of the way. Being with Tommy as he went through therapy daily, helping him make a full recovery so that he could return to his normal self. Tommy was slowly but surely getting there.

"Laurel?" Leave it to Felicity to notice the not so evident things. Laurel was sitting outside on a bench outside the hospital's main entrance. The bench was private enough that anyone entering the hospital's main entrance would have a hard time noticing it. Laurel was dressed in dark jeans, with a striped navy and white top, and gray flats. She adjusted the burgundy scarf around her neck upon hearing Felicity's voice.

"Felicity? What are you doing here? I thought you would be at the Mayor's Gala." The mayor of Starling City was holding a gala to raise funds for the city's recovery. Laurel watched as Felicity walked closer to the bench and sat on the vacant space beside her.

"Yeah, not really my scene, and to be honest, Oliver didn't want to go, so I definitely wasn't going to go alone. This middle class child doesn't spend her Saturday nights mingling with Starling City's finest selection of rich snobs." They both lightly laughed. "I'm surprised to see you out here so late." Felicity placed her hand in the pockets of her sweater. She was wearing red pants, with a mocha-colored light wool sweater, paired with black and white polka-dotted Toms.

"I needed some fresh air. Tommy fell asleep earlier than he usually does; I guess he was really tired today." Laurel took a deep breath before continuing. "I just needed to come out here and let the fresh air clear my head." Laurel gave Felicity a sad smile. She seemed to be getting back to her normal self, but the things that were burdening her heart had not let her get back to a full positive state.

"Everything okay?" Felicity had turned her body to face her slightly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, I'm just tired." Laurel gave her a long but painful sigh.

"I doubt you're fine…Tired, yes…But fine? Hell to the no! What's really going on?"

"Felicity…" Laurel had turned slightly to face her as well. "I'm fine, I promise."

"You still barely eat, you are constantly trying to help Tommy with everything, which is great, but it has taken its toll on your body, and you still suffer from sleep deprivation. I thought that Tommy coming back would change things, but now you're even more distant. What gives?" Felicity shook her head. "I mean Oliver is the same too, he's so distant and closed off from the world, but of course, he's just as stubborn as you."

"How is Oliver?"

"You seem him daily, Laurel; you could just ask him yourself. What is it with you two anyway? You do the insipid small talk, but that's it. I feel like the two of you are trying very hard to avoid each other, but since you see each other daily, you treat each other as if you're complete strangers. I swear, even the most difficult computer mysteries are easier to figure out than the two of you."

"He's knows I'm there for him if he ever needs anything." Felicity gave her a frustrated laugh.

"No, Laurel, he doesn't because you need to actually show him that you are there for him, just like he needs to show you that he is there for you too."

Laurel took another deep sigh. She and Felicity had gotten to know each other better after Tommy had come out of his vegetative state. They both had developed a closer bond because of it. "It's not that easy. I still need to figure out where Tommy and I stand."

"Well then you need to talk to Tommy."

"No, he's been through a lot. It would be too much for him right now, you know that."

"So, you'll just continue being distant and closed off from the world? Goodness me, you and Oliver are two peas in a pod, I tell ya!" Felicity gave her an annoyed shrug. There was a short moment of silence before Laurel started to speak again.

"When Tommy came in to save me, he told me that he loved me. Him revealing how he felt made me feel even guiltier for sleeping with Oliver. I feel like I betrayed Tommy."

"Yeah, but you two were completely broken up, so it wouldn't technically be considered cheating on your part."

"I know, but I still feel guilty, especially since we almost lost him."

"But we didn't, thankfully, he's alive, Laurel, and honestly, I see that as getting a second chance at sorting out whatever this triangle between the three of you is."

"It's not a love triangle."

"Well, it's not a rectangle or a square now is it?" Felicity said, shaking her head at Laurel. Her comment actually got Laurel to laugh.

"Let's just get Tommy to a full recovery, and then we'll try and deal with whatever issues need to be dealt with."

"Oy ve, the three of you will be the death of me!" They were now both laughing together. After they stopped, the two women sat silently for a few moments.

"Felicity?" Laurel broke the silence, her voice slightly above a whisper.

"Yeah?" Felicity turned her body again to face Laurel.

"Thank you. For everything…I…I don't think I would have been able to make it these past few weeks without you." Laurel nervously revealed. With Joanna out of Starling City after the attack, she really did not have another close friend to lean on. Felicity had been there for her every step of the way, and the two women had developed a life-long friendship that would completely transform the rest of their lives.

"Hey, I'm here for you no matter what. You don't have to thank me. What are friends for?" Felicity gave her a reassuring look as she placed a hand on Laurel's back.

"Best friends." Laurel teasingly corrected as Felicity gave her a wide and adorable smile.

"I've got your back, Jack!" Felicity winked, patting Laurel's back softly. "Oh my god, we sound so cheesy! I'm so glad Thea, Oliver, and Tommy aren't here to witness this; they would never stop teasing us!"

"Hey, I like cheesy; I have a boatload of shit on my plate, so I'll take cheesy any day over the wonderful mess that is my life." Felicity gave her a reassuring smile before nodding.

"Hey, it'll all be okay, in time, you'll see." Felicity moved her body closer to Laurel's and then put her arm around her.

Laurel simply gave her a hopeful smile and then leaned her body in closer to Felicity's. Felicity was not sure how things would end up, but she knew that Oliver had given her a group of extremely remarkable people. She was very thankful for that. Surely, everything had changed, but she still had faith that everything would work out for her friends and for her beloved city.


	4. You Don't Know Me

_**N.B.: As always, THANK YOU so much for reading, following, reviewing, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that. **_

_**This is another long chapter that I did not want to split into two.**_

_**A little bit of background information in regards to this chapter: In this story, Oliver and Laurel got together three months BEFORE the earthquake. They were trying to keep their relationship a secret during that time, but then the earthquake happened. When the earthquake happened, Tommy made his revelation to Laurel when he was saving her and other things occurred later on that completely complicated Laurel and Oliver's relationship (those other things will be revealed as the story progresses).**_

_** To Megara1, thank you so much for your clarification on the ship name; Tomcity and Flommy definitely make more sense and sound better. :) Also, I wasn't aware of those stories, so thanks for letting me know about them (I will be sure to check those out since I adore Tomcity/Flommy). Thank you and thank you to everyone else for your time and kind words, I truly, truly appreciate it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners. The song, 'You Don't Know Me,' by Michael Bublé does not belong to me either. It too belongs to its rightful owners.**_

Chapter 4: You Don't Know Me

Autumn was definitely making its presence known in Starling City. Even though it was only the first week of the beautiful Fall season, the weather was starting to get crisper and cooler, with Mother Nature quickly transforming herself into warm and cozy hues. Laurel loved Summer, but Autumn had always been her favorite season. The official start of her favorite season brought a much-needed ounce of comfort to her stressful life.

A month after Tommy miraculously came back to them, he was discharged from the hospital. Moira, Walter, Thea, and Oliver all insisted that he stay at the Queen Mansion. Since Tommy saw them as his family, he happily and graciously accepted their offer. As hard as it was to visit the Queen's, Laurel still managed to go a few times a week to help take care of Tommy. She was trying her best to maintain as much a distance from Oliver as possible. To celebrate Tommy's miraculous return, Thea was throwing a 'Welcome Back' party for him. She knew it was a little late, but she wanted to wait until Tommy was walking without the aid of his crutches.

She was in her room getting ready when she heard the doorbell ring. She looked stunning. She was wearing a form fitting, one-shoulder, floor length, navy blue dress. Sitting at the foot of her bed, she grabbed her dark blue satin stilettos. She was slightly lost in her thoughts when she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly put on her stilettos before getting off her bed and then walking out of her room to answer the door. She smiled when she looked through the door's peephole. She quickly opened her door to let him inside her apartment.

"Well hello there, beautiful." He greeted upon entering her apartment.

Blushing, she quickly closed the door behind him as he walked inside. "You're looking mighty fine yourself." She noted. Tommy was in a black Armani suit with a black bow tie and a white shirt.

"Why thank you, Miss Lance." As he walked over to the couch, he felt her come quickly beside him, hoping to guide him to it. He immediately stopped her when he felt her hand on his arm. "Hey, I'm fine now; I've been walking on my own for the past week. Here, let's sit." She gave him a worried look. "No, no more babying me! No more of that! I'm fine!" Tommy gave her a reassuring smile before sitting on the couch. She let out a relieved sigh before sitting next to him also, placing her hands on her lap. They were both silent for a short while before he finally spoke.

"So…Wow, I thought this would be much easier." She watched him nervously shake his head.

"What would be easier?" She was really fearful of what his response would be.

"This…Us…We just…We need to talk. We've avoided it for some time, pretending that there are no issues that need to be addressed." She was not ready to have this conversation with Tommy. Avoiding her problems for a little longer was much easier for her. Her vision was now focused on the turned off television in front of them to help her stay calm.

"We don't have to do this today, Tommy." She sheepishly said. Her heart was beating rapidly, afraid of what he would say next.

"Yes we do. The longer we avoid this talk, the harder it will be for the both of us. We can't move on with our lives if we keep avoiding it." He was now looking straight at her; however, she refused to meet his gaze. He knew this was still too much for her, but he needed her to know exactly how he felt.

"After you came to visit me at the office, I had let you go. Later that day, Oliver visited me too. He told me to fight for you. I was hesitant, at first, but then I decided that I would fight for you. This was probably a few months before my father's monstrous attack." He took a deep breath before continuing. It was still hard for him to mention anything that involved his father. "The next day, I got out of the cab and stood right outside your apartment building. Looking up at your window, I saw you…And Oliver…"

"Tommy I…" Tears were starting to form in her eyes. She felt her heart shatter. She knew that it did not qualify as cheating, but she still felt guilty as hell.

"No, let me finish." He brought his hand up to stop her from continuing. Laurel had now moved slightly closer to him. She placed a comforting arm around him. "Laurel, you belong with Oliver. I know it, Thea knows it…Hell, I think even Felicity, Diggle, and Roy know it."

"Tommy, you said…" Her voice had started to crack. She closed her eyes to stop the tears that had formed from falling.

"I know what I said, that day, at CNRI…" He gave her another long, exasperated sigh. "For months after seeing the two of you, I was angry, but then I slowly started to realize that you did not belong with me, Laurel. I was definitely in denial of it though; I did not want to admit it." She watched him put his hands together, bringing his elbows down so that they could rest on his legs while his head rested on his connected hands. "I love you, Laurel. I always will, but this whole ordeal has made me realize that you're not the one for me. You were my first love, Dinah Laurel Lance, and I know that I will never forget you. For the first time in my life, you showed me what it was like to fully love someone. You showed me that I was worthy of that type of love. But now, I finally realized that I am no longer in love with you. I was in love with the idea of you, if that makes any sense." He gave her a light chuckle before continuing. "I will always care for you, you know that, but I have fallen out of love for you. I did love you, please never forget that I…"

"You're not just saying this because…" She could see the trueness in his eyes. He was telling her the truth, but she needed to make sure.

"No, I mean it! It took a while before I realized how I truly felt for you, but when I finally did, everything made perfect sense. I thought being in a relationship with you would free me of isolation. But waking up and seeing everyone around me, I realized that I did have a family and that they would be there for me no matter what."

"You honestly thought that you would lose all of us if we did not end up together?"

"Yes...I mean, with my mother being taken away from me at such a young age and my father turning out to be a monster, I honestly thought I would lose it all. Nevertheless, being lucky to get a second chance at life was what showed me that I could let you go, but still have you in my life along with everyone else too. You were the only women who loved me unconditionally, the first woman, more or less, to love me so truthfully. Losing you scared me." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I thought that without you, I would never be worthy to have someone love me the way that you did."

"You are more than worthy of love, Tommy."

"Well, it took a big brush with death to show me that." They both shared a light laugh before silence befell them again. "Okay, I have officially gotten it all out. I hope this puts an end to the awkward moments with me, you, and Oliver." He gave her a playful wink.

"Tommy, I care for you and love you. I always will. I am truly sorry about how things turned out for us."

"Honestly, I'm not. I needed to go through all that so that I could realize that I was capable of loving someone the way I loved you and in turn have someone love me the way that you did."

"Tommy…" Her tears had now surrendered. She closed her eyes as she felt him move closer to give her a loving hug.

"Hey… It will all be okay in end! Also, I owe you a kidney, an arm, and a leg for everything. For you being there for me and..." He could hear her laugh through her tears as he held her tightly.

"No, you don't owe me anything. Just please don't you dare ever run into crashing buildings! EVER! Also, if you ever scare like that again, I will bury you alive!" They had now broken their hug, but their hands were still connected.

"I make no promises…" She gave him an evil look. "Okay, I promise, please make 'Evil Face' go away." She could not help but laugh at the cute look that had form on his face. One of his hands had let go of hers and had now moved up to wipe the tears from her face. After a few minutes of silence, a knock interrupted their moment.

"Where you expecting anyone?" He looked up at the door upon hearing the knock.

"It's probably Felicity. I told her we should go together." Laurel kindly let go of his hand and wiped the remaining tears that had stained her cheeks.

"Mega hot blonde girl?" He watched Laurel roll her eyes at him as she stood up.

"Her name is Felicity! Could you please use better words to address her, or, hey, you could just call her by her real name." She instructed as she walked to the door and opened it. "Hi, Felicity! You are looking oh so stunning!" Laurel greeted as she stood in front of her and held the door with her left hand. Laurel could see a good chuck of her dress even though she was wearing her black wool pea coat over it.

"Wowza, you're the one looking mighty hot; guys won't be able to take their eyes, or hands, possibly, off of you! Wait, you weren't crying were you? Unless that's a new trend you're trying to sport, but I say you still might need to redo your makeup." Felicity was wearing a dark pink, form-fitting, sleeveless, knee-length dress that had a scoop neckline. It accentuated her figure quite beautifully.

Laurel rolled her eyes playfully. "Well, you can thank that guy for ruining my makeup." Laurel pointed at Tommy as she welcomed Felicity inside, closing the door behind her. Felicity realized that they were not alone when she walked in.

"It's not my fault you're a crybaby." Tommy joked as he quickly got up to greet Felicity. He stopped when he saw just how beautiful she looked. Her beauty was truly breathtaking. "Well, you look absolutely lovely." He extended his hand to her and she took it. He gave Laurel a playful look as if he was proving to her that he could be a gentleman. Laurel simply gave him an approving smirk.

"Um…Thank you. You look handsome." Felicity could feel her cheeks turning a pale pink. "I'm interrupting something aren't I, because if I am, I can go…"

"No, no!" Both Laurel and Tommy assured her. Laurel put a reassuring arm around her.

"I. Am. Not. A. Crybaby." Laurel playfully slapped Tommy's arm with her free hand before letting go of Felicity and then leaving them to go and fix her makeup.

* * *

"There you are!" Felicity exclaimed upon finally finding her. Thea had done a superb job of planning Tommy's party. To everyone's surprise, she had invited far more people than expected. However, her exquisite planning had created a very enjoyable party and everyone was happily mingling or dancing.

Laurel did not speak much whenever Oliver was around. Once Tommy was discharged from the hospital, she had promised herself that she would stay as distant as possible from Oliver. Despite resolving her relationship with Tommy just hours prior, she was now more determined than ever to let go of Oliver.

She was standing in a secluded hallway of the mansion. Her intention was to get away from the party for a few minutes so that she could recollect her thoughts. She turned upon hearing Felicity's voice.

"We've been looking everywhere for you! My goodness, people could spend days looking for someone in this gigantic mansion and they still wouldn't be successful!" Felicity was slightly out of breath when she reached her.

"Is everything okay? I just needed a moment of quiet." Laurel responded.

"Yes, I just wanted to make sure you were okay and, well, truthfully, to get away from rich, snobby people." Felicity brought up both her hands to her head to demonstrate a head explosion.

"Oh, yeah, they can be too much. Trust me, I know." Laurel teased.

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Oliver's voice had surprised them. He was walking to the dim end of the hallway to reach them.

"Really? Is that why you're up here? To get away from your people? Or did you already miss us too much!" Felicity joked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well, I felt that it wouldn't be fair to suffer alone. Besides, it isn't a party without two of my favorite people enjoying it with me."

"Dude, I was only gone for like twenty minutes! This one has been gone for like an hour!" Felicity reminded him while shaking her head and then teasingly pointing at Laurel.

"I have not been gone for an hour!" Laurel defended.

"Yeah, it's been a little over an hour. Are you feeling okay?" Oliver asked worriedly. He walked closer to Laurel and placed his hands on her forearms. His touch sent shivers down her spine; they had not gotten this close since the day Tommy had opened his eyes.

"I'm fine. I just needed a moment of quiet. I should go back down." She politely moved her body out of his embrace, trying her utmost best not to look at him. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was absolutely breathtaking in a dark grey suit, white shirt, and a light grey satin tie. It took every ounce of her being not to jump into his arms and ravage him with her mouth and hands.

"Hey, come here… I'm just concerned about you." He refused to let her leave. He placed his arm on her waist, pulling her into his body to prevent her from leaving.

Felicity immediately wanted to leave them alone. "You hear that? Coming, Diggle..." Felicity lied, walking backwards, mouthing, 'Sorry,' to Laurel, and then turning around to walk properly. They watched her quickly disappear as she made her way down the long hallway.

"I should really get back…" She tried her best to escape from his embrace. She was unsuccessful as he brought her even closer into his body, his grip of her waist getting stronger.

"We need to talk." His voice was firm and deep. She could feel her knees start to go weak at the smell of his intoxicating cologne.

"We have nothing to talk about!" She tried her best to get out of his embrace.

"You have been avoiding me, Laurel. You get quiet every time I am around. I saw you from afar; you were laughing, talking, and just plain enjoying yourself with everyone else, but once I join, you become quieter and quieter."

For Laurel, it was much easier to pretend that everything was okay with them, however, Oliver knew her better than anyone, so it did not come as a surprise to her that he was noticing a difference in her behavior towards him. "Ollie, I seriously can't do this with you, at least, not right now."

"Tommy came to see me before going over to your place..." He now placed his other hand around her waist as well to bring her even closer. She angled her body slightly so that she could face him.

"So…Now you think we can magically be together!" She could feel fresh tears start to form.

"Laurel, this is what we wanted. You and I. Remember?" He gave her a sad smile as he stared deeply into her eyes.

"No, this is what _you_ wanted. Look, Ollie, I just really need space right now. I can't be with you. I honestly don't think we could ever work. We can't be together, please understand that." Her words broke his heart. She watched him close his eyes for a slight second. She knew she had hurt him, and it made her feel terrible for causing him so much pain.

"Something is holding you back. You're not being honest with me." He knew she was lying, he just could not understand why.

"Honestly, Oliver, I have a million things I need to sort out right now! I'm jobless, my mom has officially asked my father for a divorce, my dad's been demoted, and…" She closed her eyes to keep the wet tears from falling. She knew that if she continued to tell him what was really going on in her life, she would not be able to control her emotions. She took a very frustrated sigh before continuing. "We just can't be together now. Or ever, okay…I'm sorry…Truly, I am very, very sorry. I wish I could just take us both to before you left on the Queen's Gambit and go…."

"Go back." He finished her sentence. There was anger and regret in his voice. "I'd give anything to go back."

"Yeah…Me too…" She immediately pulled herself closer, falling deeper into his arms as he welcomed the embrace, still holding her tightly. He brought up one hand to hold her head securely, letting it rest on his strong chest.

What she was about to do next surprised her and Oliver. She lightly shifted her head forcing Oliver to loosen his hold of it. She slightly stood on her toes—even with her stilettos, he was still taller—and brought her face closer to his. The next thing Oliver felt were her lips crashing on his. Feeling like he was living in a dream, he deepened the kiss once he realized that he was not dreaming. A kiss that started out as tender and sweet quickly turned into a deep, wet, and passionate one with their tongues hungrily dancing together.

After a few moments, with all the strength left in her, Laurel pulled herself away. Both were struggling for air. "You said you'd do anything for me."

Oliver closed his eyes. He wished he could just keep her in his arms and never let her go. "For you, I'll do anything."

Her already broken heart shattered into a million more pieces upon hearing him say that. "Then, I want you to give me space…I need you to give me space." He continued to hold her in his arms as he stared deeply into her beautiful blue eyes.

"Laurel…" He could not give her that. He did not want to give her that. He would not let her go.

"Ollie, I need you to do this for me, please." Looking into her eyes, he knew that she deserved to get whatever she requested of him; he at least owed her that after all of the pain that he had caused her.

"Is this what you want? Space?" The devastation in his voice made it very hard to ask him for space.

"Yes…Please…" Again, surprising him, she kissed him, this time, their kiss already starting as a deep and passionate one. She stopped their kiss, bringing her hands up to cup his face.

"Oliver, I wish you nothing but the best…"

"Laurel, I…" He closed his eyes again. After opening his eyes, he brought his hands up to hold onto her wrists as she continued to hold his face. "I can't lose you. I know you need space, but I still need you in my life."

The evident pain in his voice felt like a knife cutting through her body. Oliver needed her in his life, and she was not going to deny him of that. She could not deny of that. It would be very evil of her if she did.

"Oliver…" She started to rub his jaw lines, the stubbly feel of his skin making her want to kiss every nook and cranny of his face. "I'm not going anywhere, okay; you'll still have me in your life. I honestly don't think it can be any other way for us."

"Thank you…" She gave him one last peck on his lips before letting go of his face. He reluctantly let go of her hands. Giving him another sad look, she slowly started to walk away from him. "Laurel, can you at least try not to avoid me? I mean, we can still be, you know…"

She stopped, turning around and walking back to where he was standing. "Oliver, I promise to be friendly with you." She tried to say it in the most comical way she could. She had somewhat succeeded because she watched him give her a full smile. A smile that she thought should be illegal from the first day she met him. "Come on…Let's go enjoy whatever is left of the party. I mean, it's our best friend's party and we're being such horrible guests." Her hand reached for his, he gladly welcomed her touch by entangling his fingers in hers. Smiling, they both started to walk down the long hallway, hand-in-hand.

"Wait…" She stopped him half way down their path. Noticing an evident stain from her lipstick in the small corner of his mouth, she brought her vacant hand up to the mark and gently rubbed it clean with her thumb. "Okay, come on…"

"What, are you afraid of people spreading rumours?" They continued walking.

"We've been up here for quite some time; I'm pretty sure people have already started talking."

"Just so you know, people gossiping about me fooling around with the hottest woman on the planet…Now that's definitely a win for me." He laughed as she shook her head with annoyance and laughed, his compliment making her blush.

Before they were within everyone's view, Laurel had placed one last kiss on his cheek. She gave him a comforting smile before letting go of his hand.

Once Tommy noticed them walk down the long staircase, he smiled. Taking a sip from the glass that was in his hand, he met them half way once they had finished walking down the staircase.

"Thank goodness you two lovebirds are back. I was about to start a search party for you, but Felicity stopped me."

Laurel simply ignored his nickname for her and Oliver. "Where is Felicity anyway?" Laurel started to look around the room, trying to locate the beautiful blonde among the many guests at the party.

"Oh you know, just doing a little dosey doe with Dr. Mc-Ass-Face." Tommy shrugged heavily as he pointed to Felicity.

"Carter Bowen." Laurel stated upon finally noticing Felicity slow dancing with Dr. Carter Bowen. She returned her gaze back on Tommy, noticing an interesting feature on his face and in his eyes.

"That's a good nickname." Oliver added. He was standing next to Laurel, who was in between him and Tommy.

"Now, are you supposed to be drinking, Mister?" Laurel questioned as she placed her elbow on his shoulder and then formed a fist with her hand, resting her chin on it.

"It's ginger ale." Tommy revealed, taking another sip from his glass.

"You seem pretty annoyed, you feeling okay, buddy?" Oliver worriedly questioned.

"Oh, I think he's suffering from, 'Attraction to Felicity Smoak' syndrome." Laurel gave him a wink.

"What?" Tommy became defensive, but Laurel could see right through him.

"That would explain why his eyes have been completely focused on Felicity the entire night." Oliver remarked.

"That's not true."

"Tommy Merlyn, you like her!" Laurel removed her elbow from his shoulder and was now playfully poking his arm.

"I do not! You're out of your mind." Tommy took a big sip from his ginger ale, hoping to escape their playful torment.

"He's totally crushing on Felicity." Laurel turned to Oliver as she spoke. "I know that look…"

"No…" Tommy negated, shaking his head.

Oliver looked at Felicity then back at Tommy before speaking. "You're totally crushin' on her, man."

"Okay, now you're both officially out of your minds." Tommy stated while shrugging and rolling his eyes at the same time.

"Oh, come on, admit it, you've totally got the hots for Felicity." Laurel continued to tease him. When both Oliver and Laurel returned their gaze back to Felicity and Carter, Felicity mouthed, 'Help Me.'

"I think she wants to be saved from Dr. Mc-Ass-Face." Oliver informed Tommy.

"Go…" Laurel instructed, placing her hand on his back, slightly pushing him.

"No, she's clearly smitten with Dr. Mc-Ass-Face, Dr. I'm-Gettin-My-Own-Talk-Show, Dr. I'm-Better-Than…"

"Carter's getting his own talk show?" Laurel interrupted him, forcing Tommy to close his eyes in frustration.

"We so should have gone to med school, man." Tommy said, looking at Oliver. Oliver simply gave him a light chuckle.

"Sorry, I was just curious. I mean, come on, who doesn't love Dr. Oz? What if he's the next one?" Laurel stated as she watched Tommy let out a small groan. Noting his annoyance, she quickly continued. "By the way, Felicity looks like she's about to poke both of her eyes out; trust me, Tommy, she is definitely not enjoying herself. I'm sure Carter has made it quite evident that he's a gigantic ass. Oliver, help." After taking Tommy's glass from him and giving it to Oliver, she gestured for Oliver to help her push Tommy gently onto the dance floor. A small portion of the main floor of the mansion had become a dance floor for Tommy's party.

Tommy found himself in the middle of dancing couples, all giving him strange looks once he was standing in the middle of the dance floor. The questioning look the dancing couple he had bumped into forced him to walk closer to where Felicity and Carter were dancing.

Once Felicity saw him, she immediately smiled. "Tommy!" She had said his name with a loud, relieved voice.

"Uh…Laurel…She…Um…" He was surprised at how hard it was getting for him to speak around Felicity's presence.

"Having trouble with articulation, Merlyn? It must be a side effect. Don't worry, it'll get better." Carter rudely said as Tommy simply gave him an evil look.

"Laurel needs you. Sorry to pull her away from you." His voice was now stiff and determined. He grabbed Felicity's arm gently as she slowly pulled herself away from Carter.

"Sorry, I have to go, but thanks for the dance." Felicity was finally out of Carter's embrace. "I owe you big time!" Felicity whispered once they were a safe distance away from Carter. Tommy took a deep and nervous gulp as he felt Felicity's breath tickle his ear.

"Enjoy yourself, Miss Smoak?" Oliver joked as Tommy and Felicity had finally joined them again.

"No! Laurel, you were right, he is a massive ass!" Oliver and Laurel simply laughed at her annoyance. Laurel also saw the victorious smirk that appeared on Tommy's face after Felicity made her opinion of Carter known.

"Told you so!" Laurel responded before Michael Bublé's cover of _You Don't Know Me_ started to play.

"I love this song! Queen, come on, I owe you a dance." Laurel gave Felicity and Tommy a wide smile before pulling a very shocked Oliver by the arm to guide him to the dance floor.

**_You give your hand to me_**

**_And then you say hello_**

**_And I can hardly speak_**

**_My heart beating so_**

Laurel could not help but feel sad as she heard the lyrics to the song. The lyrics held such an immense meaning to Laurel and Oliver's relationship.

**_And anyone can tell_**

**_You think you know me well_**

**_Well you don't know me_**

"You're the most stunning woman I have ever seen." Oliver was holding her so tightly that Laurel was having a hard time breathing. The slight sensation that went through her body whenever the hand that was situated on the small of her back moved made her knees go weak; she used his body as support to keep herself from fainting.

**_No, you don't know the one_**

**_Who dreams of you at night_**

**_And longs to kiss your lips_**

A deep shade of red had formed on her cheeks; she tried to move her head higher over his shoulder and looked away so that he would not notice. "Oliver…" She started to warn him.

**_And longs to hold you tight_**

**_Oh I'm just a friend_**

**_That's all I've ever been_**

**_'Cause you don't know me_**

"Sorry…" He cleared his throat as they both came back to reality. "Is this your definition of space?" He sure hoped it was.

**_For I never knew_**

**_The art of making love_**

**_Though my heart aches_**

**_With love for you_**

Laurel had now turned her gaze back to him. "Are you complaining?" The way her blue eyes were longingly and lovingly gazing into his blue ones made him want to grab her face and kiss her like a ravenous man; it took every fiber of his being to stop himself from doing so.

**_Afraid and shy_**

**_I've let my chance go by_**

**_The chance that you might_**

**_Love me too_**

Regaining focus, he quickly shook his head. "No…Hell no!" She found the firmness of his tone as he spoke very adorable.

**_You give your hand to me_**

**_And then you say good-bye_**

**_I watch you walk away_**

**_Beside the lucky guy_**

**_You'll never know_**

**_The one who loves you so_**

**_Well, you don't know me_**

"Besides, I wanted those two to be alone. And it looks like I've succeeded." Laurel was now staring at Felicity and Tommy who were a few couples down. "Look." She gestured for Oliver to look in same direction.

Oliver followed her gaze, watching how happy Felicity and Tommy looked as they danced together. "Wow, he finally asked her to dance. It only took him about four hours to finally have the balls to ask her."

"Says the guy who took three years to ask me to dance with him; you didn't ask me to dance with you until our eighth grade Winter formal, remember? And you were stuttering the whole time; it took you like ten minutes just to finally ask me for one dance with you!" She watched him roll his eyes in annoyance as she laughed. He simply did not respond. Instead, he remembered that day vividly. He treasured every moment with her. Laurel was what let him survive the hell that he had gone through on the island. She was his everything, and although it broke his heart that they could not be together, he knew that as long as he had her in his life, he would survive. He also knew that after tonight, he would not get that many close moments with Laurel, so he treasured this moment, selfishly hoping it would never end.

**_You give your hand to me_**

**_And then you say good-bye  
_**

**_I watch you walk away  
_**

**_Beside the lucky guy_**

**_You'll never never know_**

**_The one who loves you so_**

**_Well, you don't know me_**


	5. Hero

_**N.B.: Again, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_** To Joan89 and MRG101, your lovely words brought a much-needed smile to my face, so thank you very much for that! :)**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

* * *

_Chapter 5: Hero_

It was now almost the middle of November and Starling City and its inhabitants were still trying to bring the city back to life. The people who loved the city did their best to make it better than it was before the earthquake. It was like getting an opportunity to rise taller and stronger after a devastating fall. Despite the many efforts to better the city, the crime rate had increased by thirteen percent. Oliver as the Vigilante, to everyone's knowledge, had disappeared. Felicity and Diggle tried their best to convince Oliver to go back to protecting the city, but they had failed every time. Oliver was busy helping his mother and Walter with Queen Consolidated. He had told Felicity and Diggle that his family needed him, but Felicity and Diggle knew that he was simply using that as an excuse to cover up the real truth.

Felicity was sitting at one of the desks in Oliver's lair, typing with intense velocity when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "Dig, please tell me you got through to Oliver. The city's crime rate is getting higher than Mt. Everest; Starling City needs its bow and arrow-fighting hero. Also, we are so going to get lunch after I finish going through these emails!"

Her back was facing the man who had now walked to where she was seated. "Trying to get through to Oliver, huh? Well, that's quite a hard task, thanks to his stubbornness."

Once Felicity heard him speak, she took a deep gulp and opened her eyes wide. She knew that Tommy knew Oliver's secret, but she, Diggle, and Oliver never spoke about it when they were around him. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a few seconds, she turned her swivel chair around to face him. "Tommy, hey…" She cleared her throat and then opened her eyes again before continuing. "What are you doing here?"

"So, this is what you do for Oliver?" He crossed his arms over his chest and then gave her a smirk that sent butterflies flying in her stomach. "Oliver gave me my old job back, so I decided to take a tour of the place before getting back to the nitty-gritty. I'm surprised he didn't change the pass-code; wouldn't that be a major technological flaw, Beautiful Tech Genius?" He watched as a shade of light pink started to tint her cheeks. "By the way, this place looks absolutely amazing. I feel like I just walked into the C.I.A.'s control room. I don't remember this place ever being this cool!" Tommy was now taking in his surroundings, admiring every bit of Oliver's lair.

If his intention was to come down to Oliver's lair and make Felicity blush uncontrollably, then he had officially succeeded. "I…I made a few improvements, hoping that Oliver changes his mind and returns to his mission."

"How did you do all of this?" Tommy was now even more attracted to her.

"Well, Diggle helped and Oliver gave both of us a very, very generous bonus." She pushed her shades up and then gave him the most adorable smile he had ever seen.

"I thought you worked at Queen Consolidated? Is this like a night job type of thing?" His hands were now tucked inside the pockets of his brown leather jacket.

"I still work at QC, but Oliver and I got into an argument this morning, so I left work early. Once Oliver finally gets his head straightened out, then, yes, this is like my night job, sort of." She had now rested her hands on the chair's arms.

"Why were you two arguing?"

"Oh you know, how he's completely lost his mind with his whole, 'that's what cops are for, no one needs the vigilante' BS…I called him a big fat idiot before walking out of his office." He let out a light chuckle as he pictured her yelling at Oliver.

"He definitely needed that." Felicity rolled her eyes at how helpless she felt with Oliver. "Tell you what, I'll try and talk to Oliver later. Let's hope he listens this time." He walked backwards slightly to sit on the edge of another desk. "Now, let's try and forget about the awful start to your day. Why don't you join me for lunch when you're done? I don't know about you, but I am really hungry." His smile made her already nervous stomach start to do somersaults.

"I'm famished. This can definitely wait." He watched her slowly get up to gather her things. He was absolutely grateful that she had agreed to go to lunch with him. This would be their first moment alone since his party, and he suddenly started to get nervous at the thought. He did not know why he started to feel nervous; he was slowly starting to realize that he got that way every time he was around Felicity.

* * *

"Going somewhere, Speedy?" Tommy questioned after entering the Queen Mansion, closing the massive doors behind him. "Let me guess, you're going on a date with a very lucky guy? My guess would probably be a date with Roy since he wasn't scheduled to work tonight." He gave her an adorable and caring smile as he walked up closer to where she was standing.

"Well, you guessed right. Don't worry, I'll be home by eleven, I promise." Thea gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and a light smile before leaving him. Tommy was truly happy to see such a positive change in Thea. He could not help but think that working with Laurel might have had something to contribute to her positive change in behavior.

Upon hearing the door close after Thea left, Tommy walked through the house, all the way into the living room. Upon entering the spacious living room, he saw Oliver sitting on the couch, his feet propped up on the marble coffee table.

"You always watch TV on mute?" Oliver smiled upon hearing his voice. He turned his head to face him.

"Tommy? I thought we were supposed to meet at the club later?" Oliver watched as Tommy walked over to the couch and sat a few inches away from him.

"Yeah, I was there earlier, we'll go back there together. I just had to do something first."

"Is everything okay?"

"Well, not really. I mean, Starling City is still wondering where the vigilante has disappeared to." Oliver took a deep and heavy breath and then looked away from Tommy.

"It doesn't need the vigilante. I failed them, I failed the city; they definitely don't need me anymore."

"It doesn't? And you failed the city? You did not fail the city, Oliver. You literally reduced the crime rate of the city, stopped the Glades from becoming a gigantic city of debris and...Look, you, Laurel, and your family convinced me that I was not responsible for my father's atrocities, remember? You showed me how to be better, how to right all of the wrongs he committed. So, because of all of you, I stopped beating myself up over what my father had done and started to be there for the city and its people. I will continue to help the city for as long as I live. And, well, with Felicity's exceptional hacking skills, the media has been somewhat nicer to me." They both shared a quick laugh before Tommy continued. "I guess I was given a second chance to live so that I could help the city and its people get back up from falling."

"You said I was a murderer?" Oliver's voice was filled with devastation.

"Yes, but your intentions were always good. A hero doesn't always win a battle, but what matters is that the hero does his utmost best to save the city and its people from the evil crimes that plague it or them. Look, from now on, you be better too. You were always a hero, Oliver, I finally see that now, but from now on, you have to be even better: no more killing. Change your methods, because the city desperately needs its guardian angel back." Tommy stretched out his hand and patted Oliver's knee before standing up and leaving him. Oliver did not respond; he simply did not know how to respond.


	6. I Found a Boy

_**N.B.: As always, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

* * *

_Chapter 6: I Found a Boy_

Laurel was lying on her couch, a cozy blanket covering most of her body. The blanket gave her much needed comfort and warmth as she lay there, watching a cooking show. She had decided to stay at home tonight, rejecting Tommy's invitation to meet up at Verdant with Oliver and Felicity. It would be much easier to ignore Oliver if she physically stayed away from him. Oliver. She thought about him all the time. Despite her efforts to prevent herself from thinking about him, he still controlled the majority of her thoughts.

Closing her eyes, hoping to fall asleep with the television turned on, she brought the blanket up closer, her body curling up on the couch. Her casual moment was interrupted when her cell phone let out a musical ding. She immediately opened her eyes and reached out to the phone that was placed across from her on the coffee table. She smiled when she saw the text message.

_"Hey, it's Felicity, can I come over?"_

_"Of course."_ _Laurel messaged back._

_"Okay, I'm outside! Open the door."_

Laurel pulled the blanket off her body and slowly stood on her feet. Felicity's last text message brought a wide smile to her face; she loved how adorable Felicity could be. Reaching for the television remote that was also on the coffee table, she turned it off before walking to the door. Straightening her sweater, she opened the door.

"Hi! I'm sorry, I know it's late, I just needed to talk…I had to talk to you." Laurel simply smiled at her. She could see that Felicity was clearly sad, the stress of the day evident on her face.

"It's not late, come in." Laurel caringly guided Felicity inside, closing the door behind her.

"Here, let me take your coat." Laurel held out her hands to grab the black wool coat that Felicity was taking off.

"Thank you." Felicity replied, handing Laurel her coat. She watched Laurel put her coat on a hanger and then place it in a nearby closet.

"Okay, so judging by your tone and facial expressions, this will surely require wine?" Laurel wiggled her fingers together as Felicity responded with a deep sigh and then gave her a sad smile. "White or red?"

"What do you think?"

Laurel studied her intently. "Red…I'll be right back." Felicity walked over to the couch, taking another deep breath before sitting on it. She could hear the clink and the clank coming from the kitchen. A few minutes later, Laurel returned with two empty wine glasses in one hand and a bottle of pinot noir in the other. Felicity watched her place the two glasses and the wine on the coffee table and then sit down beside her. "Okay, what's wrong? Start talking, woman!" Laurel opened her eyes wide, staring blankly at Felicity.

"I…Okay, please let me have some wine in my system before I start to ramble on, and possibly, cry." Felicity held out her hand, waiting for Laurel to fill her wine glass and then give it to her.

"Nope, I need you completely sober so that you can tell me everything, which, by the way, you need to start talking because I am seriously starting to worry. Talk and then wine!" Felicity rolled her eyes as she watched Laurel pour the wine into both glasses but refused to give her one of them.

"Fine! I don't think I'll last too long without any wine in my system, but yeah, so anyway, I ran into Tommy today." Laurel gave her a confused look.

"At Queen Consolidated?"

"Uh…Yeah…" Felicity hated lying right to Laurel's face.

"And…"

"Well, I…he asked if I was hungry and I told him that I was, so he invited me to lunch."

"He came over there to ask if you were hungry?" Laurel had now brought up her legs on the couch, placing one arm around them.

_I should have thought this through a little better_. "No, he was looking for Oliver and instead found me. We did a little chitty-chat, and then he asked me to join him for lunch. So, we ended up going to the café across the street from Whole Foods. You know, Estella's Coffee Shop? Have you had their Nutella panino? They make it with organic ciabatta bread and then toast it in a panini press to perfection. It's to die for..." She was rambling and as Laurel continued to follow her story, she went on. "Anyway, so Tommy was being his usual adorable and witty comment making-self and I was being my nerdy girl-self, having totally fun conversations with each other. At the end of it, we started to argue because he wanted to pay for lunch, but I wouldn't let him, unfortunately, I lost and he ended up paying; he is so stubborn and I was so…"

"Felicity, please breathe…" Laurel scooted over closer to Felicity and placed her arm around her; she could see how nervous she had suddenly gotten.

"Sorry, anyway, he said he enjoyed lunch and then asked if I would like to go to dinner with him. I asked if it would be like a date and he said yes."

"That's so great! It's about damn time he asked you out." Laurel kindly shook Felicity with excitement.

"No, no, no…This is not good." They were now both staring at each other with confused glares. "I rejected him."

"Felicity!"

"What? I'm not good at all this romance stuff and Tommy is so out of my league! I'm a boring I.T. girl and he's a billionaire playboy."

"Excuse me, out of his league? You have clearly lost your mind! You're the perfect girl for him and…"

"No, Laurel, we come from two different worlds and…"

"He and I were from two different worlds. Oliver and I were from two different worlds, what exactly is your point here?"

"You are different. You've been in their world since forever and you fit in perfectly."

"Trust me, it wasn't easy coming from a middle-class family and going to a private school chock-full of spoiled rich, bratty kids. The only reason I wasn't bullied was because everyone was afraid of Tommy and Oliver, without them, it would have surely been much different. Also, I fit in perfectly? Seriously? Says the girl who has effortlessly entered Oliver's life and have everyone close to him fall in love with her."

"Oliver Queen and his family don't count. Besides, I suck at this stuff anyways."

"No, you don't…"

"Yes, I do. I've only been on a date once, and that was also an evil prank by one of the football jocks at my high school." She was not completely lying, but she was not ready to mention the other boy. The one who had ripped her heart straight out of her chest and then shattered it into a million and one pieces. She never spoke about him. She had not spoken about him for years.

"Oh my god, you poor thing." Laurel tightened her grip of Felicity, bringing her closer into her body.

"Yep, I thought the hottest and most popular guy at school actually wanted to go on a date with me. Well, I was wrong—stupid me, I know—anyway, it turned out that he was actually trying to win a bet with his teammates. I missed an entire week of school just from the humiliation alone."

"Okay, with your hot face…" Felicity brought her hand up to stop her.

"Oh no, I was a girl who had braces, very ugly glasses, my hair was a frizzy mess...Let's just say that that event has left me traumatized to this day, well, not just that event, but all of the hell that they put me through."

"I will sock all of those bastards!" She finally saw a smile creep up on Felicity's face. "Listen, those idiots are seriously going to get theirs, trust me, karma is not going to be nice to them! Besides, look at you: You're hot, a genius, awesome, and oh so lovable. You cannot let them still have power over your life. If you do that, then you are letting them win! We cannot let them win, Missy! Especially when you're living quite a nice life, Miss MIT graduate-working for the Queen family-friends with Oliver Queen-has a great body with a gorgeous booty and…"

"Okay, I get it. I see what you're trying to do, and I love you for it, but I seriously still can't go out with Tommy."

"Felicity…" Laurel raised both eyebrows with annoyance.

"No, Laurel, I've done my research, okay. Tommy has been with lots and lots of women and…"

"So? Tommy has definitely changed. He has the most beautiful heart ever, Felicity. He's not asking you to marry him. It's just one date. I mean, the guy is really into you. Did you not see him at the party? He could not keep his eyes off you from the minute he saw you here. Then at the party, you should have seen how annoyed he was when you were dancing with Carter; Oliver and I were afraid he was going to hurt Carter with all the death glares he was sending his way."

"Laurel, this is completely foreign territory to me…"

"So what? You cannot let him slip away from you. And you can't keep running away from these opportunities. There is no way I am letting you end up alone…"

"With twenty cats…" They both shared a lighthearted laugh.

"Yes, that is so not going to happen. Not if I have anything do with it!"

"It's too late…I already shot him down."

"Well, lucky for you, Tommy's just about the sweetest guy you'll ever meet. Tomorrow night is his first day back at Verdant, so you and I will go, and you, Felicity Smoak, are going to ask him out."

"I will do no such thing!"

"Aw…You think I'm giving you a choice? You're too cute." Laurel gave her an evil but kind smirk.

"Oh god! I...Need...Wine...Now..." Laurel removed the arm that was around Felicity and watched her quickly get off the couch to grab the already filled wine glass and then take a big sip from it. Laurel simply leaned back on the couch, feeling proud and victorious. Laurel knew the minute she had caught Tommy looking at Felicity that Tommy had fallen for her. She waited, indirectly trying to push him to be more forward with Felicity. Tonight, Laurel felt a sense of accomplishment, and she was going to do whatever she could to get Tommy and Felicity closer.

* * *

After a few hours, Felicity had fallen asleep on Laurel's couch. Laurel, however, was having a hard time falling asleep. She had decided to watch television as she sat on the couch with Felicity who was curled up on it, occupying the remaining space.

"Oh my goodness, how long was I out." Felicity asked as she opened her eyes. She rubbed her tired eyes before reaching out to the coffee table to get her glasses and then place them on her face. Taking in her surroundings, she brought her hand to her head as the throbbing pain made her want to vomit.

"Well, did you know that after a full bottle of wine, you start to dance and sing like Beyoncé? Seriously, why aren't you a back-up dancer for Beyoncé? Can I get an encore of, 'Love on Top?' "

Laurel laughed at the horrified look that developed on Felicity's face. "Oh no…"

"Now I know the secret to you're rockin' hot body."

"I am never drinking again!"

"Hey, what happens when we're together stays with us. Besides, I have it on video, you know, for future leverage."

"I am so hacking your phone." Felicity sat up, the blanket that Laurel had placed around her was now covering her legs. She kept shaking her head in annoyance at Laurel.

"Look, our lovely vigilante is back." Laurel pointed to the television screen. Felicity at first thought she was dreaming when she heard Laurel speak. Opening and closing her eyes as a way to make herself more alert, she looked at the television screen, reading the captions of the news channel since Laurel had put the sound on mute to let Felicity sleep. "He stopped a massive drug trafficking deal between two gangs. I wonder where he disappeared to these past few months."

"I should get going…" Felicity nervously got up from the couch and then started to fold the blanket that had formerly covered her body.

"No, it's two in the morning. I will not let you out this late. Stay, come on, I'll give you a pair of pajamas to wear." Laurel did not wait for her response as she got off the couch, walked out of the living room, and then went straight into her bedroom.

Felicity looked for her purse frantically as she waited for Laurel to return. When she finally found it under one of the end tables, she quickly went searching for her phone. Finding it, she started checking her phone. She had no missed calls, only one unread message from Diggle. She opened the message to read it.

_"He's back. Looks like we'll be returning to our night jobs, you ready to get back to the grind, Ms. Smoak? See you tomorrow morning."_

Felicity could not help the big smile that had formed on her face. Tommy had gotten through to Oliver, and she could not be more grateful to him. She knew that the city needed its guardian angel, its hero, and she could now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they would all be getting their guardian angel back.

"Everything okay?" Laurel questioned, immediately snapping Felicity out of her thoughts.

"Yes, everything is fine." Felicity quickly nodded, placing her phone back in her purse. "Are those red and white polka-dot patterned pajamas?" She had to change the subject quickly.

"Yes." Laurel walked closer to where Felicity was standing and handed her the perfectly folded pajamas.

"I am so stealing these!" Laurel laughed at Felicity as she watched her run into the bathroom to change. Felicity definitely kept Laurel sane. She brought a much-needed ray of sunshine to her dark days.


	7. I'm Falling Apart and Barely Breathing

_**N.B.: Again, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

_Chapter 7: I'm Falling Apart and Barely Breathing_

With the hordes of people, disco-type lighting, and loud music, Laurel could feel her headache start to become stronger. Having only gotten less than three hours of sleep last night, she definitely did not want to be at Verdant. Before Felicity had left Laurel's apartment in the morning, she told Laurel that she would meet her at Verdant later. Felicity was quite happy to have Oliver as the Vigilante back, but this would also mean that she would have to lie directly to Laurel's face.

Laurel walked her way through Verdant, trying her best not to bump into anyone, even though it would be quite a challenge. Once she noticed Tommy standing by the bar and talking to Roy, she immediately felt relieved.

"Well, well, look at you! You look lovely, as always." Tommy greeted once she started to approach him. Once she was by him, he placed the clipboard that was in his hand back on the bar counter, giving Laurel his full attention. She looked lovely in a slightly above the knee, sleeveless black dress that hugged her figure perfectly. She had paired it with simple black heels.

"Thank you, Tommy, always the wonderful gentleman. Hi, Roy." Laurel responded, giving Roy a quick wave. Roy gave her a smile followed by a quick, 'hello,' and then walked away from them, taking a large tray of bruschette with him.

"I try to let chivalry live on, I mean chicks dig that, right?"

"Well, real women still do. Loose women…Not so much..." She watched as he slid a shot glass her way. Laurel was now sophisticatedly leaning against the counter. "Tommy, we've been over this many times, I don't drink tequila, or any hard liquor, remember? I'm a wine girl; you should know that by now, Mister."

"It was worth a try. I know, only classy people drink wine, fine Miss Lance, you're too classy for any other type of alcohol." He was teasingly waving his head back and forth.

"Excuse me, that's not what I meant." She was horrified and offended.

"Really? You were the one who told Joanna that only people with class drink wine. You two had like an hour argument over wine drinkers and non-wine drinkers." Laurel simply rolled her eyes at him as she reached for the vibrating phone that was in her clutch purse, which she had placed on the counter.

"Saved by the phone, excuse me." Tommy simply laughed at her as she answered her phone. She watched Tommy gesture that he would be back in a minute before she finally spoke. "Felicity? Where are you?-You better not be lying to me!-Okay, fine, no, I understand.-Tomorrow night though; you are not getting out of this, Missy!-Okay, bye, talk soon!" Pushing the 'end' button on her phone screen, she put her phone face down on the counter, taking a deep exhale. A few minutes later, Tommy had returned.

"Here is a gigantic glass of pinot noir for my very classy friend." Tommy noticed a sad change in her facial expressions. "Oh no, wipe those puppy dog eyes away; who was on the phone?"

"Felicity…She said that she and Oliver were stuck in an emergency meeting and would not be able to make it tonight. Thank you for the wine, by the way."

"No problem…And, hey, listen, you and I are going to have one killer time tonight, who needs them." Tommy placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He knew exactly where Oliver and Felicity were. Felicity was right downstairs and Oliver was out on a vigilante mission, but he obviously could not tell Laurel that. He hated lying to her. He wished that she would find out soon, hoping that the guilt that came from lying to her would go away once she found out Oliver's secret.

"I know you and I definitely know how to have fun, but I think after this drink, I'll call it a night." She picked up the glass and took a sip from it.

"No, come on, you have me, and possibly, Roy, although I am not sure how close the two of you are, but Thea should be stopping by later, and we all know how incredibly fun Thea Queen can be; definitely the life of the party." She laughed at the cute smirk he was giving her.

"Well, she is Oliver Queen's sister…But, I should really go, you're busy and I'm functioning on only three hours of sleep, so I probably look like a zombie right now."

"I was gonna say something, but I didn't want to be rude…" She playfully slapped his arm as he simply laughed at her. After regaining his composure, he worked up the courage to ask her how she was doing. "Laurel?"

"Yeah…"

"How are you doing? You know, with your parents and all…"

"Honestly, I'm surprised at how hard it is to deal with my parents getting a divorce. I thought it wouldn't get to me, but it has. I'm definitely acting like a little kid…" He watched her take another sip of her wine.

"No, divorce is hard for children at any age."

"I know, but my mom left my dad and she left me too. I feel like I should be happy that she's finally making her leave official. My dad has been through so much that I feel like she's doing him a favor, but he's falling apart. I wish I could do something to help him, but I feel so helpless."

"Hey, you're his whole world. You're the reason he gets up in the morning, the one that keeps him going. He lives for you, Laurel. Trust me, you're definitely helping him get through life, despite what you may think."

"Thanks, Tommy." She placed a comforting hand on his arm. She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she had Tommy back in her life.

"Hey, if you ever need anything, you know how to find me. A shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, a kidney…Wait…Okay, now, for the kidney, I'll find someone to donate it to you." He felt her slapping his arm again. "You are way too violent, has anyone ever told you that?"

"You deserved it." She took one last sip of her drink and then grabbed her purse, tucking it right under her arm. "Tommy, thank you. The same goes for you. I'll also find another person to give you a kidney if you ever need one." She gave him a friendly wink.

"Okay, I deserved that." He gave her a small smile before pulling her into a hug after she stood up straight. Once he let her go, he helped her put on her coat. "Here, are you sure you'll be okay to go home by yourself?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. See you tomorrow. Let's hope Felicity doesn't ditch me again. Also, Tommy, you really need to fight for her, don't you dare take 'no' for an answer." Laurel whispered in his ear, before giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek and then a playful wink. She patted his arm one last time before walking away from him. Tommy simply stood there, knowing exactly what she meant. Laurel knew about Felicity, and much to Felicity's dismay, he and Laurel were definitely not going to let Felicity off the hook easily.

* * *

"How was the meeting?" Tommy sarcastically asked as he quickly turned around upon hearing the clicking of Felicity's heels. It was almost five in the morning and the club was now empty. He had let Roy and the rest of the workers leave slightly early since they had done quite a good job of clearing and cleaning up the place.

Tommy could see just how tired she was once she got closer to him. "Not so great…" Felicity responded, her voice tired and sad. "Was Laurel mad?" Once Laurel had left, Tommy sent Felicity a quick text message to make sure that she knew Laurel had left the building.

"Kind of, but she'll be fine, I hope. You're going to run out of cover stories though, Miss Smoak. Laurel's a lawyer, so I don't think you'll be able to BS your way around her for much longer." Felicity simply took a sad and heavy inhale knowing exactly what he meant. After all, Laurel was not dumb; she knew that eventually, their friendship would be in jeopardy if she kept lying to her about her secret job. "Did you manage to stop Mathis?" Tommy could see the uncomfortable worry that became evident on her face, so he decided to change the subject, slightly. Barton Mathis was a criminal who had escaped prison during the earthquake. Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle had not yet succeeded in putting an end to his awful mission of turning women into human dolls.

"We thought up a plan where we'd have him kidnap me, but the plan completely went awry, so now we are back at square one."

"Wait, what? Are you okay?" Tommy walked closer to where she was standing and placed his hand on her forearm. She could not help but smile at his concern.

"Felicity, any news on Mathis?" They turned their heads upon hearing Oliver's voice. He was now in normal clothing, wearing a grey T-shirt and dark jeans.

"You had her go near a killer? What the hell were you thinking, man?" Tommy tried to keep himself from punching Oliver. Tommy let go of Felicity and walked up to Oliver, standing too close to his face. Felicity quickly made her way in between the two men.

"Tommy, it was my idea." Felicity tried to inform him.

"It doesn't matter...You can't let her get into these dangerous situations, Oliver."

"I tried to stop her." Oliver had now raised his voice too, staring coldly into Tommy's angry eyes.

"Okay, you two are both going to stop! I made a choice; Oliver had nothing to do with it! Now, let's get back to work before this psycho hurts anyone else." Felicity raised her voice at the two men. Tommy was still mad at Oliver for putting Felicity in harm's way, but he chose to let it go for now, hoping that their efforts would soon stop the madman that was still on the loose.

"Felicity, you left your phone downstairs. Here, Detective Lance was calling you." It was Diggle, speed walking his way over to them, who had grabbed their attention immediately. He quickly held out his hand so that Felicity could take her phone from him.

"Detective Lance? Maybe he's got some useful updates on Mathis." Oliver said to Diggle.

"All of you need to shush! Excuse me!" She walked a small distance away from them, but not too far away since they could still hear her. Before turning her back to them, she brought her index finger to her lips, "Not a single peep!" Her back was now facing them. Tommy and Oliver simply gave each other a small smile as they waited to hear her conversation with Quentin.

_"Felicity…" Quentin said, his voice tired and stressed. She could hear the deep, heaving breaths he took as he waited for her to respond._

"Hello, Detective?" For some odd reason, Felicity started to feel sick. She could sense that something was wrong by the tone in his voice; she just did not know what it was.

_"He's got…He's got my baby-girl." His voice finally started to crack slightly. "Felicity, please, I am begging you to reach out to him! He's going to…Just please track him down somehow, I can't find him, I've looked everywhere! The police can't find him. He called me and told me what he was going to..." He was incapable of finishing that sentence. "Please, Felicity reach out to him! My baby-girl, my sweet Laurel..." Quentin's voice trembled as he started to softly cry, his emotions stopping him from continuing._

The three men watched as Felicity turned around to face them again. Tears had started to form in her eyes. Oliver, Tommy, and Diggle immediately rushed to her side to make sure that she was okay. "Detective? Stay out of harm's way, okay? I am on this! I will not let that bastard hurt her! I'll call you back in a few minutes, okay!" She was trying to sound as strong as possible for Quentin. She ended the call and just then, the tears that had so quickly formed had finally fallen. "Oliv…" Felicity could not finish her sentence; she was too overcome with emotion. Tommy immediately pulled her in for a hug, holding her as tight as he could.

Oliver was about to say something when a vibration from his phone stopped him. He immediately pulled out the phone that was in the back pocket of his jeans. It was Thea. Bringing it up to his ear, he responded, "Thea?"

_"Ollie, it's Laurel!" Thea simply said, her voice slightly trembling, Oliver knew that she was trying to keep herself from crying. "That Mathis freak kidnapped her and…Oh god it's all over the news…Ollie, what if he…" Thea was now sobbing on the phone._

"Thea, I'll call her dad and the police, you stay safe, okay. Don't go out anywhere!" He hung up, not waiting for his sister to respond. Oliver walked over to the bar. His eyes started to wander before he noticed the remote control that was sitting on the counter. He grabbed it and then pointed it in the direction of the television.

"What the hell is going on?" Tommy questioned, fearful of the response he would get. Once Oliver had turned to Channel 52, Starling City's most important channel for news, everyone had turned their attention to the television screen.

"Oh my god..." Felicity gasped, clinging herself to Tommy, hiding her head in the crook of his neck.

"Laurel…"Oliver simply stated as he walked closer to the television.

_"We are continuing to cover this breaking story. __For our viewers just tuning in: _Dinah Laurel Lance, daughter of Officer Quentin Lance, was abducted late last night. The police are trying to locate Mathis right now. Let's go to Brian Lewis who is outside of SCPD, Brian, what are the police saying?" The local news anchor was now off the screen and the reporter who was at the police department had now taken over the screen.

"I'm going to fucking kill him!" Oliver coldly exclaimed, his voice filled with rage. Laurel had been abducted. His Laurel. He held up the remote and furiously turned off the TV.

"We need to figure where this guy is keeping her. Let's start with her apartment building's security cameras." Diggle started, before looking at everyone individually to give them instructions. "Felicity, I need you to help us out here, okay. Let's start with the club cameras first and then her apartment's surveillance system, did Laurel say she was going home after leaving from here?" Diggle looked at Tommy.

"Yes, she was tired, so I'm sure she was going to go home." Tommy sadly replied.

"Call Lance back and try to see what he knows. Oliver…" Diggle stopped when he did not see Oliver. Oliver had already made his way back downstairs. None of them had noticed him disappear. "Let's go downstairs, Felicity, we need you. Laurel needs you." Felicity simply nodded, she was incapable of verbally responding.

"I'll come with you and Oliver." Tommy said to Diggle. He held Felicity by the waist, guiding her as they all made their way back downstairs.

"No, you need to stay here with Felicity, make sure she can help us. Felicity, stay strong." Diggle instructed as Tommy simply agreed. Everything else that followed happened quickly; everybody knew what their job was, and they were going to do whatever it took to get Laurel back to safety.

* * *

Internally, Laurel was screaming. She was helpless. Once she was in apartment building's parking garage, she had gotten out of her car to look for her phone which had started to vibrate the minute she had switched off the car's engine. Lost in the moment and focused only on finding her phone, Mathis had quietly come from behind, quickly using the taser-gun on her, preventing her from defending herself. The next thing she knew, there was a tube placed in her mouth and she was in a place that looked like an underground dungeon.

She tried her best not to look at any of her surroundings since she knew that her last moments were coming, so it would be best to try and not look at the horror that was happening right before her eyes. Mathis' voice was eerie and creepy, making her sick to her stomach. She tried her best to ignore him when he spoke, as difficult as it was to cancel out his voice. She closed her eyes, saying a little prayer, hoping that somehow the horror would miraculously end. A few moments later, her eyes fluttered open once she could hear glass shattering on the concrete floor. The tube that was formerly inside her mouth had finally been taken out. Once her face turned, she saw him. He was here to save her, just like he had saved her so many times before. Watching as beakers and tubes fell, breaking into many pieces, he walked by her. She stared intently at him. For a moment, she could tell who he was from the lower part of his face, but thought that she was simply imagining things. After an intense moment of staring at him with disbelief, she watched as he went behind her, untying the band that had been digging into her skin, leaving painful red marks on her wrists.

"Go…Get to safety, now!" He instructed, using his masked voice to speak to her before going after Mathis who had cowardly started to run away from him.

Collecting herself, she was not going to listen to the Vigilante. Instead, she followed him, taking the same path he had taken to get to Mathis. Running as fast as she could, she immediately froze when she heard the gunshots. She immediately saw where they were coming from and ran as fast as she could to help the man who had saved her. As she got closer, she watched him struggle to move. Her guardian angel was the one who had been shot. Running to him, she grabbed his arm, pulling him down to his knees. Oliver was surprised at how strongly she had pulled him down. In that moment, there was a rush of adrenaline that had consumed her entire body, so much adrenaline that she was now capable of doing anything.

"Wonderful, I can kill him and then continue to slowly kill you." Laurel was so occupied with helping the vigilante that she did not even notice Mathis come up from behind her. He grabbed her by the hair, using it to pull her up to her feet with the gun poking at her back. Just as she was about to defend herself, she watched as an arrow made its way into Mathis' body, forcing him to let her go and then fall to the ground. Using his remaining strength to shoot down Mathis, he was suddenly getting weaker. He had been shot twice just below his right shoulder, the pain finally catching up to him.

Laurel immediately ran back to him, letting his head fall into her arms before his weight forced her to sit on the cold, concrete floor. With his head now resting in her lap, she looked at the man now on her lap, fearful of what would happen next.

"Go…" Oliver demanded, trying his best to get her to leave him, wishing that he were not so weak at this moment. Laurel looked at his visible jaw line; she had that jaw line permanently tattooed inside her brain. Gathering all of the strength and power she could, she brought her hands to the hood, slowly pulling it back. She took a fearful and nervous gasp. Tears had formed in her eyes. She secretly knew it was Oliver, but she did not let herself believe it. She did not want to believe it. However, now, she could no longer deny it; her biggest fear now evident before her. Coming back to reality, she placed one hand over the bullet wounds, trying to place as much pressure on them as she possibly could. "Oliver…" The tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Laurel, I'm sor…" She watched his eyes close shut, making her even more nervous. Through her tear-clouded vision, she finally caught a small, red blinking light coming from an object in his ear. Pulling it out, she pressed the blinking light and then placed it in her ear, hoping it was some sort of communication device.

_"Oliver? Are you there? The police are going to be there any minute. Dig is on his way. Dig?"Laurel knew exactly whose voice it was. _

_"I'm coming." It was Diggle's voice._

"Felicity." Felicity had remained silent, not sure how to respond. She was not expecting to hear Laurel's voice. "Felicity, I know it's you."

_"Oh god, it's Laurel…" She could still hear Felicity whisper and then incoherently hear Tommy say something back._

"It's Oliver…He's hurt." She would yell at all of them later, right now, all that mattered was getting Oliver help.

_"Are you okay? Dig is on his way." Felicity tried to maintain as mush control of her emotions as possible. _

"Miss Lance, are you okay?" Once Diggle had finally made his way to her, he took a deep breath. Laurel placed the earpiece back into Oliver's ear and then gave Diggle a sad nod. "Come on, let's get out of here." Diggle pulled Oliver up and then carried him in his arms. Laurel asked no questions and gave no hesitation; she simply got up and followed Diggle. As they finally got to the car, Diggle quickly put Oliver in the backseat with Laurel sitting in the passenger's seat. Once Diggle was inside the car as well, Laurel turned around to look at Oliver, she grasped his hand tightly, trying her best to bring him comfort. As the car drove its way through, Diggle and Laurel could finally hear the sirens from afar.


	8. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

_**N.B.: Again, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

* * *

_Chapter 8: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?_

"We can't take him to the hospital like this." Laurel had finally broken the silence that had completely taken over their car ride.

"We are not taking him to the hospital." Diggle informed her, forcing Laurel to turn her head over and look at him.

"What do you mean? We have to take him to the hospital. We just have to change his clothes first, but he needs medical attention. Why aren't you going to the hospital; you're not going the right way!" Laurel's voice had slightly gotten louder. She was clearly angry, and Diggle was not bringing her any sense of calmness.

"Just trust me, okay?" Diggle sternly said. Laurel did not really know him well, but she could definitely see the truthfulness in his eyes, so she simply returned her gaze back to Oliver, still holding his hand as Diggle continued to drive them to Verdant.

* * *

Laurel was still trying to process all that was happening before her eyes. Once they were at Verdant, she had followed Diggle as he carried Oliver down a long path that led them to the basement. The next thing she saw was a big room that looked like an advanced control room; almost like something she would find in modern spy movies.

She watched as Diggle walked a few steps forward to place Oliver on a long table. He immediately started working on him, attending to his wounds as Felicity and Tommy helped him. Once Felicity had given Diggle what he needed, she walked over to where Laurel was standing. Laurel was almost fearful of standing too close to them. The next thing Laurel felt was Felicity's hand on her shoulder.

"Hey...Are you okay? Oh...No...You're covered in blood." Felicity worriedly stated, looking at her up and down. Laurel tried to wiggle herself out of her embrace.

"It's not mine." Laurel simply responded, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Miss Lance, he'll be fine, he's been through a lot worse." Diggle informed her in a slightly loud tone so that she could hear him from where he was standing. He was trying to bring her a sense of calmness and reassurance, but he was unsuccessful.

"Yeah, this is a walk in the park for him. I mean, compared to all of the other times and all…" Felicity tried her best to lighten the cold and dark atmosphere in the basement too. She wanted to give Laurel a strong and genuine smile, but it was quite hard since she could see that Laurel was about to burst with fury.

"Laurel, he'll be fine; Diggle and Felicity are quite remarkable at this." Tommy added, as he too had now joined the two women. He placed a caring arm around Laurel.

Laurel flinched at his touch, pushing him away from her. "Don't touch me!" Her voice was still very low, but now there was anger and disappointed in her tone.

"Laurel…" Tommy tried his best to get her to calm down, but he was unsuccessful. She simply walked as fast she could to where Oliver was lying. Once she was by him, she closed her eyes, not wanting to look at the gaping wound since she would probably vomit or faint if she did look. Swallowing hard, she saw the night's events replay in her head. Opening her eyes again, she could not see a single clear thing: everything became blurry. Bringing her hand slowly to her heart, she could feel it beating very rapidly. Her body temperature rising, she now was struggling to breathe.

"Laurel…Oh, no…" Felicity remarked, once she noticed a sudden change in her body movements. She ran to her as Tommy followed. Slightly late to meet her, she slowly fell to the ground, her head hitting the hard metal leg of the table upon landing.

* * *

Once she awakened, she started to take in her surroundings. She was not sure if she was still at Verdant, however, once she studied the environment that greeted her, she knew she was not at Verdant anymore. She was at St. John Memorial; a place in which, unfortunately, she had spent too much time.

When she turned her head, the pain immediately came back. Her head was throbbing, forcing her to close her eyes again to calm herself down. Opening her eyes again, she saw the man sleeping in the plastic chair beside her. He looked tired, stress evident on his face. As painful as it was, she held out her arm to try to wake him. He immediately jumped once he felt her hand on his forearm.

"Daddy…" Laurel simply said, giving him an adorable smile.

"Laurel, my baby girl…" Quentin replied. He was now standing on his feet, placing her hand in his. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry, Laurel, I am truly sorry." He took another heavy sigh.

"Dad, no, don't be sorry! It was not your fault." She tightened the grip of their connected hands.

"Laurel!" Felicity joyfully exclaimed, entering the room with Tommy following closely behind her, interrupting their moment. Both father and daughter turned their heads upon hearing her voice.

"Hey, how do you feel?" Tommy nervously asked, standing a safe distance away with his hands in his pockets, fearful of standing too close to Laurel. Laurel did not want to respond. She simply stared coldly at Tommy and Felicity, not sure how to act around them after all that had happened.

"Felicity here was working with the Arrow to track down that bastard. The Arrow saved you." Quentin happily informed Laurel, as she simply gave him a confused glare.

"The Arrow? That's what we're calling him now? Since when are you on his side?" Laurel snapped back.

"Since he saved my daughter…Again…" Quentin warningly reminded her.

"I reached out to him so that he could help us bring you back, and well, here you are: safe and sound." Felicity added, trying to speak without any hint of nervousness in her voice.

"He saved me…Again..." They all watched as the tears that had so desperately tried to fall finally did.

"Hey, pumpkin, it's okay…You're going to be okay." Quentin said, bringing his free hand up to her shoulder to comfort her.

Felicity walked up closer to the bed and brought up her hand to Laurel's face, wiping the tears that had fallen with the utmost care.

Laurel did not last more than half an hour; the strong pain medication that they had given her had taken complete control of her body, putting her straight to sleep. Felicity and Tommy had stayed with Quentin for two hours before leaving. Felicity was hesitant, but Tommy felt it would be best if they left her with her father, so Felicity reluctantly agreed to leave them and go back to Verdant with Tommy.

* * *

When morning finally came, Quentin left his daughter's hospital room to get some breakfast. However, Laurel was not alone. Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was a smiling Oliver. Breathing a sigh of relief, she relaxed.

"Good morning, sleepy-head." Oliver greeted, his eyes sparkling. He immediately stood up and bent forward slightly to place a kiss on her forehead.

Laurel closed her eyes once his lips touched her skin. "Oliver, your shoulder…" Remembering his gunshot wound, she opened her eyes and immediately lifted up her hand to feel the area where the bullets had entered. He stopped her half-way; instead, he grasped her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her palm.

"It's fine. I'm fine." Oliver reassured her, giving her a warm smile that somewhat put her at ease.

"I'm so sorry…" Laurel said, trying her best not to cry again.

"No, it's not your fault; don't you dare apologize." Oliver firmly instructed. None of this was her fault. It broke his heart to hear her apologize for something for which she was not responsible. There was a brief moment of silence before he worked up the courage to speak again. "Laurel, we need to talk about…"

"No, not here, not now…Let's just leave it for today, okay." She closed her eyes, hoping to remain calm. She wanted to scream at him for keeping his secret from her, but she knew that she had absolutely no strength to do so. Sighing and then opening her eyes again, she gazed deeply into his blue eyes. "I do need to know one thing though."

"What it is it?" Oliver asked, almost fearful of what her response would be.

"What does my dad know?" Laurel questioned, her face serious and sad.

"Well, once you were okay, Felicity called your dad and told him that you were safe. She told him that she would call him once the Arrow…I mean, once I told her where to find you. When they brought you to Verdant, Felicity said that you fainted." With his hand still connected to hers, he took a deep breath before continuing. "So, according to Felicity, since your clothes were covered in blood, she switched clothes with you and then she and Tommy brought you here. Felicity called your dad again and told him you had fainted from all of the stress and hit your head somehow. He did not really ask many questions. I guess he just wanted to get to his daughter. He knows Felicity knows the Arr…Me...But he thinks that she doesn't know who it is behind the hood."

"I guess they've worked together before then. Not important right now...I'll deal with all of you another day." She narrowed her eyes, and he knew that she would not be this nice once she was ready to talk about his secret. "Let's just hope he spares me from any form of interrogation though." Laurel continued, giving Oliver a bright smile, which put Oliver back at ease.

"How are you feeling?" Oliver asked, as he tightened his grip of her hand even more.

"Better…Much, much better." Laurel laughed lightly. Her body was not as sore as it was a few hours ago and her headache was slightly more tolerable now. She knew that she could have been in a far worse condition had it not been for Oliver. Oliver had gotten hurt trying to help her, so she still felt a pang of guilt for that. She could not help but feel a little guilty. "Ollie, your shoulder…Are you sure you're okay? Did you get it checked out?"

"Laurel, I'm fine, I promise." Oliver reassured her. He watched as she brought her vacant hand up to her forehead, feeling the small band-aid tape that was covering the cut she had received upon hitting her head. Lowering half of his body again, he placed another kiss on her forehead. This time, however, she brought up her head slightly so that she could connect her forehead with his. They both closed their eyes, enjoying the lovely sensation that came from their bodies connecting.

"Okay, Queen, I brought us both a turkey sandwich and a vegetable sandwich for Laurel, since the egg salad looked rather questionable." Quentin Lance said, as he walked back into the room with a medium sized paper bag in one hand and a tray with three coffees in the other. "Laurel, sweetheart, you're up." Oliver stood up straight once he heard Quentin's voice, disconnecting their foreheads but still holding onto Laurel's hand.

"Dad has a fear of anything with eggs as an ingredient." Laurel teasingly informed Oliver.

"No, I don't have a fear of eggs. I just need to know who's made them, when I don't know, I won't eat anything with eggs in it." Quentin explained, as Laurel shook her head at him, forcing Oliver to let out a light laugh. "Now, let's get some food in you, young lady. Queen, you need to let go of my baby's hand so that she can eat, and, also, if you intend to keep that hand, I suggest…Well, you know..." Quentin gave Oliver a strong glare, pointing at their connected hands. Oliver gave the older man an apologetic smile, politely letting go of Laurel's hand.

"Dad…" Laurel started with annoyance, giving her father an angry glare.

"No...You should eat. Here, let's bring this closer to you. Thank you, Mr. Lance." Oliver interrupted, moving the bedside table closer to her so that Quentin could place their food on it. After Quentin gave Oliver the medium-sized paper bag and then the tray of coffee, he reached into his pant pocket to answer his phone, which had started to ring.

"Excuse me…" Oliver and Laurel both watched as he excused himself from the room.

Oliver placed the bag and tray on the table. Opening the paper bag, he took out their sandwiches and started to unwrap one of them for Laurel. He gave her a loving grin as he worked to free the sandwich from the flimsy plastic wrap.

"I'm sorry…" Laurel said, hoping that her father had not offended him.

"No, don't worry. He brought me a coffee and a sandwich; I'm sure this needs to be put in some sort of record book or something." They both gave each other a warm smile that lightened both of their hearts.

"And he didn't bring you anything with eggs in it...That right there is quite astounding." Laurel added, grinning as she took a bite of the sandwich moments after Oliver had handed it to her. At this moment, she simply did not want to think about what would happen after leaving the hospital. She was furious with Oliver and her best friends for lying to her, but she wanted to be completely in the right state of mind before dealing with any of them. Her father was there too, so even if she wanted to yell at Oliver, Felicity, or Tommy, she knew that it would not have been a good idea. What would happen to her relationships with Oliver, Tommy, and Felicity? Well, only time knew the answer to that question.


	9. Dear Life, Please Hold On

_**N.B.: Again, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**To OllielovesDinah, thank you for your kind words; you're a sweetheart! Thanks for putting a massive smile on my face! I too think it's the writing. Let's hope the writers surprise us and prove us wrong with Laurel, because she deserves a better story line that completely connects with Oliver's (does that even make sense?). **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

* * *

_Chapter 9: Dear Life, Please Hold On _

In the two weeks that followed, everyone had returned to their normal lives. However, there was nothing normal about their lives since Laurel had stopped speaking to Tommy, Felicity, and Oliver. Oliver understood why she was mad. She had every right to be, so he gave her the space that she so desperately needed. Once Laurel had walked out of that hospital building, it was as if she had completely entered reality. From that moment on, she ignored their calls, text messages, and emails. She did not want to talk to them. They had betrayed her, and she made sure that they knew just how much they had hurt her.

After unsuccessfully trying to talk to her once she was discharged from the hospital, Oliver simply gave up, knowing that he owed her time and space. He had hurt her, again, and he would give her whatever she requested; he owed her that at least. Tommy and Felicity were a completely different case. They both continued to try to get a hold of Laurel, hoping that she would magically agree to speak to them. Despite failing miserably every time, they still did not give up.

* * *

It was a cold, dreary November night, and, somehow, she did not know how she ended up on his doorstep. She simply remembers driving for hours, hoping to clear her clouded head. It must have been her heart that had somehow led her to his house.

She stayed in the car for a good fifteen minutes before finally getting out and walking up to his door. She crossed her arms as a way to calm her nerves and bring warmth to her body, the cold November air continuing to give her body chills. She knew it was late, but she also knew that it was necessary to speak to him. She was afraid of what might happen in the next few moments, but she needed to do this.

Taking a deep breath, she brought her glove-covered hands to her cheeks, trying to bring warmth to them as the cold hair forced a blushing red to form on them. Standing up straight, she held out her arm and rang the doorbell to the large door, her hand slightly shaking. After a whole minute, she watched the door swing open.

"Miss Laurel." Geoffrey Stevens, the Queen family's butler, greeted. He was an older man that always reminded Laurel and Thea of Santa Claus. His hair was a snowy white and his beard was short, but Laurel and Thea would always say that he was almost identical to the beloved Christmas figure, except Geoffrey was cuter, as Thea would always say. He had been the butler for the Queen Family since the day Oliver was born. He had such a sweet and kind heart that both Oliver and Thea absolutely adored him.

"Hello, Geoffrey." Laurel responded, trying to look as calm as possible. She truly hoped he did not see how utterly nervous she was.

"Come in." He welcomingly gestured for Laurel to enter the house. Laurel gave him a polite nod and walked inside.

Once she was inside, she saw that the Queen's had already started decorating for the upcoming Christmas holiday. She knew that Oliver must have been responsible for the early Christmas decorations since it was his favorite holiday. "I see the Queen's have decided to start decorating early." Laurel remarked, as she took in her surroundings. Oliver absolutely loved the holiday season and everything about it. She too shared his love of for it. The holiday season was always a positive time for them. Their happiest moments seemed to have always occurred during the holiday season, so it definitely held a special place in both of their hearts.

"Well, they wanted to start decorating right after Halloween. There's still a long way to go though." Geoffrey informed her, as he gestured for her to look at the boxes of decorations that had occupied quite a bit of space in the foyer. "After Mrs. Queen, Mr. Steel, and Thea return, they'll continue to decorate the house. Mr. Oliver has requested that no decorators be hired this year."

"For the entire house…They will be decorating it all by themselves?" Laurel gave him a look of shock and amazement.

"Well, you know Mr. Oliver and his ideas." Geoffrey said, forcing Laurel to let out a light chuckle.

"Are Moira and Walter away?" Geoffrey had met Laurel when she was eleven years old. Oliver had brought her over to work on their Spanish presentation. Since that day, Laurel and Geoffrey had developed a mutual friendship. Geoffrey never liked any of the women that Oliver would bring to the house, but Laurel was different. She was polite, well mannered, and had a very beautiful heart; Geoffrey had caringly adored her from the minute he met her.

"Yes, Mrs. Queen and Mr. Steele are away along with Miss Thea. Mrs. Queen and Miss Thea decided to accompany Mr. Steele on his business trip. They will be back on Monday. Oh, and Mr. Tommy is working tonight." Laurel smiled nervously as he spoke. This probably meant that Oliver was the only one home; however, she hoped he would not be. "Miss Laurel, may I take your coat?"

"No, that's fine, but thank you, Geoffrey, I just wanted to see Oliver. Is he here?" Laurel responded, politely declining his offer as she continued to follow him all the way to the beginning of the staircase.

"Mr. Oliver is upstairs in his room; let me get him for you." Laurel kindly placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"I'll go to his room myself, if that's okay." He gave Laurel a warm and comforting smile.

"Of course, Miss Laurel, go right ahead. May I get you anything?" Geoffrey responded, as he brought his hands back to his sides and stood up straighter.

"No, thank you, Geoffrey."

"Alright then, I shall leave you. I'm sure Mr. Oliver will be quite happy to see you." Geoffrey bowed his head to her slightly before leaving her.

Laurel took a deep and heavy sigh. She stared at the massive staircase in front of her. Before taking the first step, she took off her gloves and then removed her beige wool coat. Wearing dark skinny jeans, a dark cream-colored sweater, and her worn out Converse shoes, she was dressed quite casually. Holding her coat in one arm, she placed her black leather gloves in her purse. Once she was done, she slowly walked up the stairs.

To many other people, the Queen Mansion was a mystery. Most found it very hard to navigate through the massive house, but not for Laurel; she knew every nook and cranny of it. She had spent a lot of time in this house; too many times to count.

Once she had reached his room, she stood in front of his bedroom door, fearful of making the next move. The door was slightly ajar. She hesitated at first, but then she brought up her empty hand and formed a fist. She lightly knocked on the door, her hand nervously shaking the entire time. At that very moment, it was as if someone had taken complete control of her legs since she found herself walking in without any invitation from him. She pushed the door back gently as she slowly walked inside. Resting her hand on the doorknob, she saw him. His back was facing her.

"Slow night or do you have the night off?" Her tone was not polite. The minute she saw him, her entire body filled with anger again. Gone was the sweet and polite Laurel that everyone loved.

Sighing heavily, he turned around, connecting his eyes with hers. No matter how she looked, her beauty always astounded him. He had not seen her in person since the day he had visited her at the hospital, and not seeing her always made him feel incomplete and agitated.

Hands at his sides, he gave her a small smile. "Laurel." His was voice was low and strained. Laurel walked away from the door, angrily slamming it shut behind her. She walked a few steps forward to the chair that was close to the door and carelessly threw her coat and purse on it, letting them fall sloppily. With her hands now free, she toddled around the room for a few minutes before returning to stand a mere few inches away from him. She was close enough that he could smell her gardenia perfume, a smell that he distinctly associated only with her.

A long moment of silence followed as they both intently glared into each other's eyes. Her blue eyes were filled with vehemence while his were filled with sadness and regret. The next thing he felt was her hand slapping him hard. He simply stood there, his body refusing to react in any way.

"I hate you!" He had never heard that much fury in her voice. She was mad, and he knew that she had every right to be mad at him. "You lying, cheating bastard!" She slapped him again. Oliver simply closed his eyes and opened them again, his face frozen. "I was nothing but loyal to you!" She slapped him another time, forcing a light shade of red to form on his right cheek. "But you…You continued to lie to me and cheat on me! And I was the idiot who forgave your sorry ass every single damn time!" He felt another slap. The right side of his face had now started to burn, but he continued to let her take her anger out on him; he knew he deserved it.

"And Sara…" The tears that had formed just a few moments ago had finally started to stream down her face. "My baby sister…" She slapped him once and then slapped him again, her hand now burning red and in pain. Her hands had now formed into fists. He silently watched as she brought her hands up and started to hit at his chest, trying her best to push him back. He was much stronger than she was, but she still managed to push him back slightly. "SHE WAS MY BABY SISTER!" She was yelling at him, her anger completely overcoming her entire body. "And after all of that pain, you come back and you lie to me again! All those meetings with you, and you still did not tell me! I had every right to know, Oliver! How could you repeatedly lie to my face?" Her emotions had completely taken over, her face was now red with fury and her eyes had started to swell from all the tears that kept falling from them.

Oliver knew that he deserved this reaction from Laurel, but watching her anger filled actions and then deeply studying her pain-ridden eyes, he brought up his hand to her wrists to try to stop her from completely shattering into a million pieces. He was much stronger than she was, but she still tried her best to release her wrists from his grip.

Afraid that she might slowly start to have a severe nervous breakdown, he did the only thing that he could think of. He knew it was probably a bad idea, but she needed someone to comfort her, someone to calm her down so that she did not completely fall apart right there in his room.

He simply pulled her closer into his body and brought his face closer to hers, immediately kissing her in the strongest and most powerful way he could. The kiss lasted longer than he expected, but he sure was not complaining. A few minutes later, he felt her violently push him back, ending their kiss. The next thing he felt was another painful slap. He closed his eyes in frustration. She studied him for a few moments before she threw herself into his arms, her legs immediately wrapping around his waist.

Opening his eyes with surprise, he reacted quickly, bringing his arms up to hold her. She aggressively crashed her lips back onto his. Moving her around his room, he brought his hands up to her back, then back down to her buttocks. She felt him gently slam her against the wall that was now behind her, their lips never disconnecting. Once she pulled her lips off his so that they could both breathe, her fingers went to the hem of his shirt. He quickly met her eager fingers, helping her bring it up over his head and then throw it across the room, his body weight and the wall continuing to hold her securely. Beating him to it, Laurel slightly titled her upper body back so that she could remove her sweater. Oliver immediately helped her remove it from her body, exposing her lacy black bra. Their lips connected again, their tongues ferociously dancing together.

Bringing his hands up again to reach the clasp of her bra, Laurel felt shivers run through her body as his hands touched her bare skin. Even a slightest touch from Oliver was always enough to make her body shiver. She let out a soft moan when their lips parted slightly as he unclasped her bra and removed it in one swift motion. The slight sensation that she got once her breasts connected with his chest was just enough to send her over the edge.

For a moment, they both looked intently into each other's eyes. "Laurel…" As much as he wanted to devour her completely, he knew that she was in a very unstable state.

"Don't talk!" She immediately stopped him from continuing, violently bringing her lips back onto his to prevent him from saying anything else. Her intensity was fierce, and if she wanted their encounter to be intensely fierce and rough, then he would definitely exceed her expectations; he was definitely not going to be gentle with her.

* * *

After a few hours, they were both naked on Oliver's bed, their bodies tired and worn out. Sleeping on her side with Oliver pressing into her back, she was curled into his body so perfectly, their sweaty and sticky legs a tangled mess, with Oliver's strong arms holding her tightly.

Laurel opened her eyes slowly, her body sore and weak. As difficult as it was, she slowly and gently tried to remove herself from his embrace, hoping not to wake him. Once she successfully disentangled herself from his body, she sat up, moving up to the edge of the bed, her bare feet making contact with the floor. She stretched her neck forward and back and then took a deep sigh. The events of the last few weeks finally catching up to her, she was overcome with emotion. The tears that she did not remember forming were now streaming down her face. She lightly whimpered, her body gently trembling. She tried to gather as much strength as she possibly could so that she could leave his house without him noticing.

Before she even knew it, Oliver's arm grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back down onto the bed and into his arms, preventing her from leaving him. She curled back into his body, her head now resting in the crook of his neck with one leg over one of his. She was now crying into his shoulder, her wet tears falling onto his skin.

"Laurel." Oliver started, bringing his thumb and index finger to her chin so that he could hold it up to look into her eyes. Helping him, Laurel titled her head back slightly to connect her eyes with his. His heart shattered into a million pieces again as he saw the evident devastation in her beautiful blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry…" She was now trembling at a fearful rate. Oliver shifted his body so that he could face her. They were now both lying on their sides, his hands now coming up to cup her face.

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry about." It always amazed him that she could maintain such a kind heart no matter what he had done to her. That was his Laurel. The one who continued to forgive him no matter what he had done. He did not deserve her, and he knew it.

"I was…I was angry and…" She whimpered as she spoke, unable to get her words out in a coherent way.

"Laurel, stop, you have every right to be angry."

"I shouldn't have slapped you. I shouldn't have yelled and…"

"I deserved much worse from you; I deserved an ass beating alla Laurel Lance." He connected their foreheads, her face still in his hands.

"You wouldn't survive that type of beating, unfortunately." Laurel responded, smiling through her tears. They stared deeply into each other's eyes for a few moments before she started to speak again. "Ollie, why did you lie to me?"

He watched as her tear-stained eyes overwhelmingly stared right through him. He had hurt her, and the mere thought of that made his heart ache. "I couldn't tell you, Laurel. I couldn't let you get hurt. I was trying to keep you out of harm's way."

"Oliver, it is not your job to protect me. We've been through so much together, Ollie. How could you keep this from me? Why don't you trust me, after all these years? I just..."

Bringing her face closer to his, he gently kissed her, completely stopping her from continuing. He ended their kiss quickly, their foreheads and gazes reconnecting. "You are the only person I can fully trust. Don't ever think that I don't trust you. You're the only one who's ever been honest with me, Laurel." Fresh tears streamed down her face.

"But Diggle, Tommy, and Felicity all…"

"I didn't really give them a choice, Laurel. Things happened that forced me to bring them into this mess. Not a day goes by that I don't worry about how this secret has impacted their lives. I never planned on having anyone find out, but it…"

"It wasn't easy." She finished for him. "Honestly, internally, I always knew it was you. I mean, I felt so comfortable around you whenever we would meet, and your body, well, that's something I'll forever have permanently engraved in my head...And your scars and that lie detector test...I was in denial, though. Hoping that, somehow, it wasn't you...I refused to believe that it could be you."

"I'm sorry." An apology was the only thing he could give her; nothing else could be said or done to help the situation.

"Ollie, when you are ready, I want you to be able to tell me everything. I'm here for you, forever and for always, please never forget that."

Oliver took a deep sigh before responding. "What did I do to deserve such an amazing person in my life?" She gave him a heart-felt smile, her tear-filled eyes sparkling with compassion. "There's so much I want to tell you about the island…"

Laurel immediately could sense the painful tone in his voice. She knew that it was still too much for him to speak about the island. "Ollie, it's okay, you don't need to tell me tonight. Whenever you're ready, I'll be here." She moved her head up slowly, giving him one last passionate kiss. Once their lips parted, Oliver kissed away the tears that had stained both sides of her face. He gave her a fond smile before he moved his hands slightly to hold her head, letting his hands entangle through her soft hair to kiss her even more passionately than she had. Pulling away after a few minutes, they were both struggling for air when Laurel gave him one last smile before falling back into his arms, her head resting just below his shoulder. She could hear the soft and gentle beating of his heart. "You could tell me how everyone else found out though."

He smiled, as he lovingly rested his head on hers. "With whom shall I start?" He could feel her form a smile.

"Who was the first person to find out?"

"Diggle." He gave her a light laugh.

"Then start with him."

With one arm holding Laurel, he brought his other vacant arm to lovingly connect his hand with hers. "Laurel, please don't be mad at Tommy and Felicity for keeping my secret. They shouldn't have to pay for something I'm responsible for."

She waited a minute before speaking, "I don't blame them anymore. I'm still slightly hurt though. Start talking, and then maybe, just maybe, I might actually forgive them completely. So, starting with Diggle..." He grinned at her response, tightening his grip of her body, pulling her deeper into his embrace. Her favorite place in the entire world had always been being wrapped in Oliver Queen's strong arms. She constantly wished and dreamed that she could forever remain in her favorite place, never leaving his embrace. Unfortunately, she knew that that dream would never come true.


	10. My Old Fickle Friend

_**N.B.: Again, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that. **_

_**To OllielovesDinah, your words brought me so much joy and inspiration; you are just a precious gem, so thank very, very much. Your review definitely made my day! :)**_

_**To Joan89, atlan2007, MRG101, and Manuela, thank you so much for your kind words; you all are just such sweethearts! **__**:) **_

_**To CamJ, it's not that he doesn't trust them fully. He does, but Laurel is a special case because she is his everything and she knows him better than anyone (I hope that didn't make it more confusing, lol).**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

* * *

_Chapter 10: My Old Fickle Friend_

It was a little before sunrise when Laurel had finally left Oliver's house. He tried to convince her to stay with him so that they could spend the rest of the day together, but she simply refused to stay any longer, reminding him that he still owed her space. The painful look he had given her once she reminded him made her heart painfully ache with agony for him. She wished she could tell him how desperately she wanted to remain in his arms forever, but she could not. She simply had no right to tell him that.

When she finally arrived at her apartment building, she took a long and heavy sigh as she stood in the elevator, waiting for it to reach her floor. Once the elevator doors opened, she slowly walked down the long hallway to get to her door. With her keys in her hand, she placed them in the lock and slowly unlocked the door. Once she unlocked her door, she walked inside, closing it behind her.

"Where on Earth have you been?" Laurel immediately got into self-defense mode upon hearing the voice. The voice sounded a lot like Felicity's, but she needed to keep herself safe just in case it was not her. "Okay, please don't hurt me! You don't have your gun out do you?" Once Felicity saw Laurel standing in a fighting position, she immediately covered her face with her hands.

"Felicity, what the hell are you doing here?" Laurel asked, her voice loud and serious.

"Waiting for you…" Felicity responded, still covering her face.

"I was just about to beat the hell out of you! How did you get in here?" Laurel immediately sobered up.

"This is why it was a good idea that I forced myself to pull an all-nighter..." Felicity gave her an adorable smile and brought her hands back down before continuing. "I used the emergency key that you gave me."

"Crap, I forgot that you still had that." Laurel quickly started to free herself from her coat and purse. After placing both items into a nearby closet, she returned her focus back on Felicity. "What exactly was the emergency?" Laurel raised both her eyebrows at her.

"Well, there was no…Actually, yes, there was an emergency. You see, I really needed you to know how truly sorry I am." Felicity pushed her shades up and then gave Laurel a sad frown.

"You lied to me." Laurel reminded her.

"I know, and I'm truly sorry about that. I should have stopped myself from getting too close to you, but I was too selfish. I guess you're just too awesome of a person to give up on. Honestly, Laurel, if you don't think we can be friends anymore, then I completely understand, but please don't put us both in that position. Please?" Felicity pleaded, fearfully looking into Laurel's eyes.

Laurel stood silently for a few minutes before speaking. "Aw…I wouldn't want you to give up on our friendship. Besides, who else would want to put up with my crazy life situations?" Still too tired and weak to stand, Laurel quickly walked over to the couch and sat on it. Despite only knowing each other for a few months, the two women had been through a lot together. Laurel had already realized how much Felicity meant to her, and she was not going to let the revelation of Oliver's secret ruin their friendship.

"Especially now since we both know about Oliver's secret. Nobody would want to put up with the craziness up in here." Felicity added, using her index finger to point to her head and then joining Laurel on the couch. "Can I just express how truly happy and relieved I am that you finally know. I mean, I wish he had told you himself, you know, without you getting kidnapped, almost killed and…" Laurel gave her a horrified look. "Sorry...I just wish it had been done differently."

"Felicity, keeping Oliver's secret from me was not right. I deserved to know, and it truly breaks my heart that the three of you were lying to me the entire time."

"I know, and we are truly sorry, but this was his secret to tell, Laurel...And, honestly, this secret is bigger than all of us. He has sacrificed so much of his life by taking on this role. He's a true hero, and the only reason he did not tell you was because he did not want you to get hurt in any way. Trust me, if he could continue to be this other person without anyone knowing, then he would definitely never tell anyone, but it would completely destroy him, and I guess it would be slightly impossible also..." Felicity informed her, trying her best to make her understand why they had lied to her.

Laurel took a heavy sigh before speaking. "I know and understand all of that, but it still hurts. I don't like being lied to, Felicity."

"I know, no one does…Again, I'm truly, truly sorry." Felicity apologetically said, giving Laurel a devastating smile.

"I'm not surprised. With everything that's happened this past year…It all finally makes sense." Laurel gave Felicity a comforting glance before continuing. "Okay, new rule for the two of us: No more secrets, okay?"

"No more secrets, I promise!" Felicity happily promised, giving Laurel a heart-melting smile.

"No more secrets." Laurel repeated, smiling back.

There was a short moment of silence that followed before Felicity started to study her intently, finally noticing her slightly disheveled appearance. "Okay, wait a minute. Where the hell have you been?"

"I was out." Laurel replied, getting a bit uncomfortable.

"Until six in the morning…Where exactly did you go?" Felicity questioned, her eyes interrogatingly glaring at Laurel.

"I was out...Somewhere…" Laurel became nervous, so she started to twiddle her fingers to keep herself calm.

"You were doing the walk of shame!" Felicity moved her body closer to Laurel's so that she could playfully poke her arm.

"I was not!" Laurel fearfully defended.

"You weren't? Is that why you look like you've just been attacked by a bear?" Laurel let out a light chuckle at her comment as Felicity continued. "Your hair is a knotted mess, your clothes are wrinkled, and, wait, that's not your shirt!" Felicity started to inspect Laurel scrupulously, touching the cottony fabric. "This is a guy's T-shirt!" Felicity let out a huge gasp.

"It's not a guy's shirt." Laurel tried to straighten out her hair and then her clothes.

"Really, it's not? Is that why it looks like it's ten sizes too big for you?" Felicity crossed her arms over her chest and then stared intently at Laurel.

"I knew I should have continued to look for my damn sweater!" Laurel sighed and then leaned back on the couch, feeling defeated.

"Who's the guy?" Laurel was silent for a minute, but Felicity immediately knew who it was just by looking into her eyes. "Oliver! You didn't…"

"We did..." Laurel gave her a tired smile.

"How was it?" Felicity brought her shades back up as she gave Laurel a caring smirk.

Laurel looked at Felicity with annoyance before giving in. "It was…Well, it's always amazing with Oliver. Except, tonight was different…"

"Because you two finally smartened up and realized that you belong with no one else but each other, so that allowed for the most passionate love reunion ever?" Felicity gave her a hopeful smile, her eyes sparkling.

"No, that's not what happened. I went there to yell at him, and I did. I was very angry with him. Anyway, to make a long story short, I opened my eyes and there I was, in his bed, completely sans clothing. I mean, it has always been intense and rough between the two of us, but tonight, I just wanted to kill him. Honestly, I think we both wanted to kill each other." Laurel revealed as she quickly closed her eyes and then opened her eyes again with frustration.

"I guess that explains that bruise right below your collarbone..." Felicity said when she noticed the evident mark.

"I'm probably bruised all over, but I could care less, really." Laurel gave her a tired shrug.

"Wow, I'm surprised you can still walk." Felicity gave her an evil smirk before continuing. "So, you two are…Well, what are you two now exactly?"

"Well, we're two people who have decided to 'play tennis' I guess…" Laurel explained as Felicity angrily gasped.

"Laurel! No, no, no…We both agreed after watching that movie that, 'playing tennis,' is a really bad idea; someone always ends up getting hurt in the end!" Felicity reminded her. Laurel remembered their first movie night together vividly. She smiled at the memory. She remembered how they both could not decide on a movie to watch until Laurel had randomly mentioned her love for Justin Timberlake, immediately giving Felicity an idea of what to watch. Felicity had suggested they watch _Friends with Benefits_ and once she had, Laurel had given her the warmest and happiest smile and then brought her hands together, clapping with joy.

"Well, it won't be for long anyway." Laurel added, sighing sadly.

"What do you mean?" Felicity gave her a confused glare.

"I went to New York a few days ago. For…Um…A job interview..." Laurel started to reveal.

"I so don't like where this is going..." Felicity worriedly shook her head.

"I got offered a job as a legal analyst for NBC; they called me yesterday morning." Laurel continued to inform her.

"You're going to be on TV?" Felicity was a little excited for her best friend, but she still knew that this would definitely be a bad idea.

"Well, sort of." Laurel casually replied.

"But you love being a lawyer." Felicity reminded her.

"It's still a legal position…" Laurel added.

"But you won't be taking on actual cases." Felicity worriedly stated.

"No, but it's still a job that deals with the legal system and the pay is actually really, really good and it's in New York, at Rockefeller Plaza, you know, in the iconic GE Building…" Laurel started to ramble.

"Yes, I know where NBC Studios are located, and hey, it may be a great position and all, but you are, first and for most, a lawyer who loves to fight for the disadvantaged, the wronged. Are you sure you're not just running away from Oliver?"

"Well, not really…I mean it's a welcomed coincidence. Felicity, he needs to move on and he can't do that if I continue to be in his life." Laurel said, trying to sound as honest as possible, however, Felicity could see right through her.

"I'm sorry, but have you not already realized that he _can't _move on without you in his life? You're his everything, Laurel." Tears immediately started to glisten in Laurel's eyes. "You can't be serious right now."

"I am. I need to leave, Felicity, and this job is the best way to do that." Her unshed tears finally started to stream down her face. "I don't deserve him. He deserves someone who can give him everything…Everything that I can't give him."

"You're the only one who can give him everything, Laurel. When are you going to get that?" Felicity retorted.

"I can't…" Her cries started to become stronger. Felicity immediately put her arm around her, pulling her closer into her body.

"Laurel, you didn't tell him did you?" Felicity asked, worried about what Laurel's response would be.

"Felicity, he can never know." Laurel reminded her in a scolding manner.

"Laurel, you can't keep it from him forever; he has a right to know. He deserves to know that…"

"Know what? That I failed him…He doesn't need to know that." Laurel immediately interrupted her.

"Laurel, you didn't fail…"

Laurel immediately brought up her hand to stop her. "Felicity, please, you know how hard this is for me. He can never find out, please understand that."

"Laurel…" Felicity started.

"Felicity, please…" Laurel pleaded, her eyes still glistening with wet tears.

Felicity took a heavy breath, reluctantly granting Laurel's wish. "Fine, you can run away as far as you want, but, just so you know, sooner or later, the truth always catches up with you."

"Felicity…" Laurel was tearfully trembling, her tired body shaking uncontrollably, falling even deeper into Felicity's arms out of frustration. She knew that Felicity was right, but she was going to continue to be in denial.

Felicity became afraid for her friend, holding her as tight as she possibly could so that she could comfort her. "Laurel, hey, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just want you to realize that Oliver will not hate you if you tell him…He could never hate you."

"I just can't…" Laurel started, crying hysterically, becoming incapable of continuing.

"Laurel, please breathe, okay. Just take a deep breath." Felicity rubbed Laurel's back comfortingly. After a few minutes, she could feel Laurel's body start to slightly calm down. Once Laurel pulled away from Felicity's embrace, she felt the beautiful blonde bring her hand up to her cheeks to wipe away the wet tears. "Laurel…" After placing a gentle kiss on the right side of her forehead, Felicity pulled her back into a hug. "I'm so sorry…" Felicity really was not sure what else she could say to change Laurel's mind. She definitely understood her devastation though, and it broke her heart that someone so close to her was going through something so painful. She held her as she continued to cry.

* * *

About half an hour later, Laurel's body had subsided, regaining a more calm state. "I am all cried out. Please change the subject, please." They both pulled away as Laurel gave her a sad laugh, her cheeks terribly stained with tears and her eyes swollen with devastation. "Please tell me that you and Tommy are, somehow, together now, please. I need happy news." Laurel quickly tried to change the subject.

"Laurel, are you sure…" Felicity started.

Laurel immediately brought her hand up to stop her. "Yes, please, let's change the subject, because it's…It's still too much…Now, you and Tommy, any happy news that you can give me?"

Felicity understood, so she decided to change the subject just as Laurel had requested. "Well, I can't give you any, unfortunately."

"Oh, no…" Laurel started before Felicity interrupted her.

"No, it's…Look, I was not the most pleasant person to be around these last two weeks. I mean, just yesterday, I yelled at Oliver for bringing me coffee. I made the poor guy feel absolutely terrible for doing something nice." Laurel lightly gasped. "I know…I was basically nit-picking at every single thing, and the boys were very scared to be around me, so they tried to stay out of my hair as much as possible. Anyways, back to Tommy…I simply am not ready to start seeing someone again; I stopped believing in love a long time ago." Felicity gave Laurel a sad smile.

"There's more to that, 'first date ever' story, isn't there?" Laurel gave her a serious look as she pulled her legs up on the couch, tucking them under her.

"It's truly crazy how we see right through each other." Felicity shook her head in disbelief. "It's been quite a long night for the both of us and…"

"Nope, I cried my heart out tonight. Now it's your turn to tell me what's really keeping you from taking the next step with Tommy."

Felicity gave her a long sigh. She had not spoken about him for years, but for once in her life, she actually felt comfortable talking about her past with someone; she had never felt comfortable being open with anyone. She quickly brought her legs up on the couch also, giving Laurel a very fond smile before speaking. "Four years ago, I was in a relationship with this bastard of guy. His name was Owen Harrington." She had not uttered his name in four years. Just hearing his name made her feel sick to her stomach. "We met in my sophomore year of college and we were together for three years. Turthfully, I was never really in love with him. I'd never had anyone actually invest any romantic interest in me, so I completely jumped at the opportunity of being in a relationship."

Laurel watched as her eyes started to well up with tears. "Felicity, I hope you know that if you don't want to talk about this, you don't have to. I was just kidding when I…"

"No, it's definitely time to tell someone…It's been way too long since I've spoken about…Him…" Laurel immediately shifted her body closer to Felicity's so that she could put a comforting arm around her. "He was so awful, Laurel. He was verbally abusive, constantly making me feel like I wasn't good enough, like I was incapable of accomplishing anything. He made me feel like without him, no one would want me and I would be alone, so, and this is according to him, he was doing me a favor." The next thing Felicity felt was Laurel's grip getting tighter. "Anyway, one night, I came home from my night class, and there he was, screwing my roommate, in my bed, nonetheless. That was the straw that finally broke the camel's back, I guess."

"Oh my God, Felicity, sweetie, we are going to find this 'dick-douche' so that I can beat the hell out of him, and we'll get Oliver to put a few arrows in him too." Laurel brought her hands up to Felicity's cheeks, wiping away the tears that continued to fall.

"Laurel, that happened in my senior year of college. Right after graduating, I immediately moved back to Starling City. I completely disconnected myself from everyone and everything. I ran away from Boston, not looking back once. When I came back home, for years, I refused to let anyone enter my life. I simply drowned myself in my work. Then Oliver decided to bring me into his life, and, well, you know what happened after that." Felicity explained as she rested her head on Laurel's shoulder.

"I am so happy that he chose you to help him with his mission. The one good thing that came from Moira shooting him…" Felicity brought her head back up and gave Laurel a puzzled glare. "He told me about how you found out his secret." Laurel gave her a caring grin before continuing. "Felicity, I will not allow you to continue to let this bastard have control over your life. He doesn't deserve to consume not even a smidgen of your thoughts. I know it's hard for you to take the next step with Tommy, but I only want you to take the next step with him because he is actually a good guy, and you deserve to finally have someone who will make you happy. I would never let you get even remotely close to a guy that wasn't good enough for you; you deserve the utmost best, Miss Smoak."

Felicity gave Laurel a heartbreaking smile."It's just still so hard to forget all that and move on; he completely left me shattered." Felicity sadly declared.

"I know it's hard, but, again, if you keep letting him control your life, then you are still letting him win. He still has this power and control over you. He doesn't deserve to have that power and control. If you give him that, then he wins, and we definitely can't let him win, Missy." Laurel gave Felicity a kind smile before continuing. "Why don't you go on one date with Tommy, and then see where that takes you. He's an amazing guy, so please don't close the door to this opportunity with him because of that damn bastard." Laurel informed her.

Felicity took a long and heavy breath. She remained silent, not knowing how to respond.

"Hey, let's take this one step at a time, okay?" Laurel added, giving her a caring smile.

"You are so trying to get us together, aren't you?" Felicity gave Laurel an evil glare and then smiled through her tear-stained face.

"Maybe…" Laurel responded, giving Felicity a wide grin.

"One step at a time…" Felicity imperatively repeated.

"One step at a time, and I'll guide you every step of the way, I promise." Laurel reassured her, pulling her in for a hug.

After ending their hug, Laurel still left an arm around Felicity as a slightly long moment of silence befell them before Felicity broke it. "But you'll be leaving me."

"No, I will not be leaving you. New York is only less than three hours away by plane…" Laurel reminded her.

"And about twelve hours away by car…That's not close enough…" Felicity raised an eyebrow at her out of frustration.

"Felicity, it's not that far away. Look it at this way, if you ever need to get away from the boys, you have a place to escape to for as long as you want." Laurel informed her, trying to sound as positive as possible.

"Yeah, I don't think my schedule will allow for any vacation time. Working for Oliver Queen doesn't give you any time off since crime never sleeps, as Oliver always says." Felicity sadly laughed.

"Yes, but Oliver would never prevent you from taking some time off, you know that. Also, working for and being friends with Oliver Queen and his family has its perks, you know." Laurel said, her eyes sparkling with joy.

"Oh…I see, by perks, you mean borrowing one of their private jets." Felicity responded, nodding her head slowly.

"Yes, he will be more than happy to let you use one so that you can visit me." Laurel added, smiling brightly.

"So how did Oliver take the news?" Felicity asked, as Laurel shifted her gaze away from Felicity. "Wait a minute…You didn't tell him did you?" Felicity was now angrily glaring at her.

"Well, I'll tell him…At some point…" Laurel nervously mumbled.

"Let me guess, on your next 'tennis' date?" Felicity retorted.

"Felicity, no, I'll tell him…Soon enough, he'll know." Laurel responded sadly.

"I am so not getting in this one…" Felicity started to shake her head with annoyance. "Just please tell him before you officially leave; he deserves to know that you're leaving beforehand. At least give each other a proper farewell. Also, I'm honestly surprised your dad is letting you go..." Felicity said as Laurel gave her a troubling smile. "He doesn't know too! Laurel…"

"He's in Chicago visiting my grandmother. I'll tell him when he gets back Wednesday night." Laurel informed her, trying her best to keep Felicity calm.

"So you'll tell him the night before Thanksgiving? Oh boy, that will definitely play out well. When do you exactly leave for New York?" Felicity questioned, as she brought her shades up closer to her eyes.

"They want me to start on the second…" Laurel started.

"Of December…" Felicity interrupted her.

"Yes…" Laurel responded, smiling warmly at Felicity.

"Please tell me it's December 2014…" Felicity said, giving Laurel a hopeful smile.

"Felicity…" Laurel scolded.

"Oh, no, that's a week from this Monday! So, you aren't even going to be here for Thanksgiving?" Felicity sadly asked.

"I'll be here for Thanksgiving; I'll be leaving the following Saturday. I have yet to start packing though…Better get a move on it." Laurel laughed while Felicity's face remained serious.

"Just out of curiosity, why New York…I mean, did you apply to this job a while back? How exactly did you hear about this opportunity?" Felicity worriedly asked.

"Well, about a week and a half ago, I ran into Carter at Starbucks…" Laurel began.

"Oy vey…Please tell me that you're referring to a different Carter and not to Carter Bowen..." Felicity interrupted her.

"Felicity…" Laurel warned her.

"Uh…" Felicity took a heavy sigh before continuing. "Let me guess, he told you about this opportunity?"

"Yes, as you know, he has his own talk show now on NBC, and he was telling me that his family is really good friends with the president of NBC Studios, so…" Laurel tried to explain.

"Wow, how surprising…Mr. Doctor has connections." Felicity sarcastically interjected.

"Felicity, he was just trying to help. Anyway, he made a few calls, and then a day later I got the call to come down to New York for an interview, and, well, you know the rest." Laurel finished, sighing heavily.

"Why can't you work here? I'm sure Carter and even Oliver could get you something here…Not that you need connections to score a job because you definitely are one badass lawyer with exceptional qualifications." Felicity stopped to give Laurel a fond smile before continuing. "And if it's the television industry you want to get into, I'm sure they both could…"

"No, Felicity, this isn't about connections or wanting to get into the television industry. I just need to start fresh in a new city. I truly need this. It's only a one year contract position with the possibility of renewal, so it might only be for one year." Laurel interjected.

"Knowing you, you'll never come back; they'll fall in love with you and keep you working there forever." Felicity sadly stated as she leaned her head slightly on Laurel's, the tops of their heads connecting.

"Felicity, wherever, whenever…I'll always be there for you, no matter what…" Laurel reassured her.

"Same here, but I'll still miss you lots. We have to promise to see each other at least once a month." Felicity raised both eyebrows at her.

"Yes, once a month at least, and, again, from now on, no more secrets…" Laurel added, giving Felicity a scolding look.

"Yes, no more secrets, as promised!" Felicity gave Laurel a reassuring nod as they both laughed.

"Okay, I am going to get those polka-dot pajamas that you love oh so very much so that we can both get some sleep because we both desperately need sleep." Laurel stated, before giving Felicity a comforting smile and then letting her go so that she could get off the couch and stand on her feet. Felicity simply smiled back. "I'll be right back." Laurel started to walk away slowly before Felicity stopped her.

"Laurel?" Felicity asked worriedly.

"Yes?" Laurel responded as she stopped and turned around to face her again.

"Everything will be okay, right? I mean, it has to be…" Felicity devastatingly wondered.

Laurel took a deep and heavy breath before responding. "Honestly, I don't know, but I hope that everything works out for the people I love." Laurel kindly winked at Felicity before continuing. "I don't know why, but I just know that you'll be okay...I just can feel it. I can't really explain it, but I'll do my utmost best to make sure that you, Felicity Smoak, get your happily ever after. I secretly think it will be with Tommy, but…" She watched as Felicity gave her an annoyed glare. "Okay, forget I said that…Yes, it will all be okay, in time." _If I can't have my happily ever after, then I'll to make sure that you do._

Felicity's annoyed glare disappeared and she was now smiling warmly and fondly at Laurel. Deep down, Felicity knew that Laurel was using New York as a way to escape life, but knowing Laurel, she would never directly admit to that. Feeling helpless, she was going to let her best friend embark on this new chapter in her life, even though she knew that it was not the best idea. She was truly fearful of the impact that Laurel's departure would have on their lives, however, she was mostly fearful of the impact it would have on Oliver once she officially left. Unfortunately, the only thing she could do now was to try to stay positive; it would definitely not be easy though.


	11. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

_**N.B.: As always, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**To OllielovesDinah, you are just the sweetest! And you made me laugh, but, I assure you, this is a LAURIVER story. ;)**_

_**To Nicole, you are too kind! Thank you so much for your lovely words! You are a gem!**_

_**To Leinad312, your words made me smile; thank you so much!  
**_

_**This chapter is dedicated to Flommy/Tomcity.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners. The song, 'Make You Feel My Love,' does not belong to me either; it too belongs to its rightful owners. **_

* * *

_Chapter 11: Crazy Little Thing Called Love_

Felicity was done running away. She had been running away for four years straight, and she was tired of it. She did not know what had inspired her to take this risk. It was probably watching her best friend slowly fall apart right before her eyes as she continued to run away from life. Yes, she was petrified, but, as Laurel had made her realize, she was done letting Owen Harrington win.

As terrified as she was, she continued to walk through the slightly empty club, the clicking of her black velvet heels echoing throughout the quiet building. Once she saw him, it was as if reality had finally hit her. She officially realized what she was about to do. The mere nervousness that ran through her body started to make her feel lightheaded. Swallowing hard, she continued down her path to the bar.

Once he heard the clicking of her heels, he immediately looked up. He smiled once he saw who it was. With her hair in her signature ponytail, she was wrapped in a long, dark violet coat, looking adorably professional.

"Felicity…" Tommy greeted, gently dropping the pen and clipboard back down on the bar counter.

"Hi…" Felicity nervously greeted once she reached the bar. They were now facing each other.

"What brings you by on this early Sunday morning? Wait…You're not here to yell at me are you? Please tell me that you and Laurel are 'besties' again so that we can have our nice Felicity back." Tommy worriedly said, giving her an adorable little-boy grin that made her nervous heart melt.

"I'm sorry about these past few weeks, but, yes, Laurel and I are speaking. Wait…Have you not spoken to Laurel yet?" Felicity fearfully asked.

"Oh, yeah...She called me last night. It was a rather loud phone conversation, filled with classic Laurel Lance threats though." Tommy explained as he gave her a horrified look.

"Yeah, sweet Laurel tends to get a bit scary at times." Felicity gently teased as she gave him a warm smile.

"And violent…" Tommy laughed.

"Well, the good thing is that she finally knows, so we can all sleep a little better now." Felicity said as the butterflies in her stomach started to nauseatingly dance around.

"Yes, and I am never lying to her again." Tommy said as he fearfully shook his head before he started to speak again. "So, what can I do for you, Miss Smoak."

"Um…Well, I thought…Okay, I just wanted to talk about our lunch a few weeks ago, remember? You know, when we were at Estella's Coffee Shop and you…" Felicity said, slightly stuttering as she spoke.

"Oh, about that…I am truly sorry about asking you out. It was not appropriate and it made you feel really uncomfortable, and for that, I am truly sorry." Tommy apologetically said, interrupting her as he gave her a kind grin.

"You're apologizing?" Felicity asked, her face displaying a look of utter shock.

"Well, it made you feel...I...I now see that it wasn't appropriate to ask you out…I just really like you and…Okay, I'm saying inappropriate things again…Forget that I said that…Let's just start over…" Tommy responded nervously.

"Tommy, ask me again…" Felicity nervously added, interrupting him as she closed her eyes briefly before opening them again to catch the confused look on Tommy's face.

"Ask you what, exactly?" Tommy questioned, unsure of what to say.

"You know…After that lunch...When I declined your offer…" Felicity answered, trying to gauge his memory.

"Wait…I thought that…" Tommy started, still pretty confused as to what to do.

"Tommy…" She took a deep sigh before continuing. "Ask me again."

He opened his brown eyes wide and stared intently into her gorgeous blue ones. "Really…" Tommy started to say before she interrupted him.

"Tommy…" Felicity said with annoyance.

"Okay…Uh...Well, Felicity, we would like to go out to dinner with me?" Tommy finally asked, giving her the most charming smile ever.

She gave him a bright grin, her eyes sparkling with compassion as she waited a few minutes before responding. "I would love to."

His brown eyes met her blue ones as he walked around the counter so that he could stand on the same side as her. Once he finally joined her, he grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips to place a gentle kiss on it. The mere feel of his touch was enough to make Felicity turn in a giant ball of heartwarming mush. "I'll pick you up at eight, Beautiful." Tommy informed her, his hand still connected to hers as he smiled warmly.

"Tonight?" Felicity asked, finally coming back to reality.

"Yes…The sooner, the better; wouldn't want to give you a chance to change your mind now..." He bluntly responded, giving her a serious smirk.

She simply gave him a nervous smile. _What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

Felicity continued to pace nervously around her apartment as she waited for Tommy, her satin black heels angrily hitting her hardwood floors. Her heart was beating rapidly. She had not been on a date in years, and thanks to her not so wonderful past experiences, she was absolutely terrified of what the rest of the night would entail.

With her cell phone tightly pressed against her right ear, she impatiently waited for a response to come from the other end.

_"Felicity…" Laurel answered quietly._

"Laurel, I can't do this…" Felicity said fearfully.

_"Felicity, yes you can. It's just one date."_

"I am so scared that I am feeling lightheaded and I think I'm about to throw up and I think I'm starting to get hives…Oh my God, I can't do this…" Felicity mumbled as she struggled to breathe.

_"Felicity, you'll be fine, I promise. Tommy is quite the gentleman, so you seriously have nothing to worry about." Laurel reassured her, trying her best to calm her down. _

"Is there any possible way for you and Oliver to join us? I mean, I know that you two aren't together, but is there any way that the two of you can…You know…Help a sister out?" Felicity requested, hoping that Laurel would agree with her.

_"No, you are not turning your first date with Tommy into a double date…"_

"Fine, I'll see if Thea and Roy can join us…"

_"Felicity, you are not calling Thea…" Laurel scolded, faintly hearing a knock. "Is that a knock that I'm hearing?" _

"Oh, no, that means he's here…"

_"Felicity, sweetie, you can do this. Now, take a deep breath and then open that door. If anything goes completely awry, then you have me on speed dial."_

"Laurel, I think I have to let you go; the sooner I do this, the sooner it will be over…I'll talk to you later." Not waiting for Laurel's response, Felicity immediately ended their call and placed her phone back on a nearby end table. Before making her way to the door, she took a few deep yoga fire breaths. When she got to the door, she took one last breath and straightened her dress. Closing her eyes briefly and then opening them again, she finally reached for the doorknob. She was a bit hesitant. _You got yourself into this mess, Felicity, so you had better suck it up._

When she finally opened her door, his mere presence took her breath away. He stood there with a beautifully arranged bouquet of yellow tulips that were perfectly wrapped in a thick, cream-colored ribbon, which was tied into a very sophisticated bow. The bouquet was not the only beautiful thing that greeted her once she opened her door; Tommy looked quite handsome in a black suit, white dress shirt, and dark gray tie.

"You look exquisite." Tommy remarked, his mouth curling into a bright smile. She looked absolutely breathtaking in a three-quarter sleeve red dress that had a scoop neckline and hugged her body closely, falling slightly above the knee. She had decided to put her hair down for the night, opting for beautiful loose curls instead.

His smile and his compliment made her melt, and she hoped that her face had not turned into a blushing mess. "Thank you…You're looking quite handsome…" Felicity said, her blue eyes sparkling beautifully. "Come in." She kindly held the door for him as he entered her apartment. Once he was inside, she closed the door behind them.

"Why thank you, Miss Smoak. These are for you." Tommy said as he held up the bouquet for her.

"These are lovely, Tommy, thank you." Felicity replied, gently accepting the bouquet.

"Not nearly as lovely or as beautiful as you." Tommy added, sending the butterflies in her stomach running for dear life.

A crimson color had started to develop on her cheeks. "Aren't you quite the charmer?" Felicity kindly teased.

"Well, I simply think of myself as someone who gets an opportunity to make you happy, almost like a charming gardener who wants makes your soul blossom." Tommy said, as he gave her a soft grin.

"Indirectly quoting Proust are we? How poetic of you..." Felicity lightly chuckled, still holding onto her beautiful bouquet. "Is that how you charm all the other girls?"

"No, I only save my charming abilities for one very beautiful girl." Tommy replied, his brown eyes looking deeply into her blue ones. Felicity took a nervous sigh as she continued to blush. He was definitely making her heart feel things she had never felt before. "Now, if you are ready, Beautiful, I would be quite honored to take you out to dinner; I have quite an evening planned for us."

"I, um...I am...Ready...Just let me put these beautiful flowers in some water. I'll be right back." Felicity quietly said, hoping that there was no hint of nervousness in her voice. She gave him a sweet smile before slowly disappearing into the kitchen.

* * *

Tommy had made sure that he planned their first date properly. Yes, he only had a mere few hours to work with, but he had still done a superb job of planning a first date that Felicity would never forget.

He had chosen Il Valentino, a family owned trattoria that was in the rural part of the city. The small restaurant was famous for its sophisticated yet casual design. It had a small area that provided live entertainment with an even smaller space for any one that wanted to dance. The walls were a warm and cozy burgundy and the chairs and tables were a dark maple wood, perfectly matching the walls and the brown marble floors. The entire trattoria gave its customers a cozy place to escape to from the daily stresses of life.

Tommy had been the best gentleman to Felicity, completely easing her into the entire process. She had been nervous since the early morning when she had visited him at Verdant, so once she realized how utterly sweet Tommy had been to her the entire night, her body had completely calmed down, and now, she was finally enjoying her time with Tommy.

"This raspberry tiramisù is absolutely delicious." Felicity remarked as she continued to finish her dessert. Tommy simply smiled at her, his eyes deeply gazing into hers. He continued to smile and stare silently at her for a few minutes, her beauty completely captivating him. "Tommy…" She started to say as she sighed lightly before gently placing her fork back onto her plate. The way he was looking at her was starting to make her nervous again.

"Dance with me." Tommy finally said as he placed the mocha-colored napkin that was formerly on his lap back on the table so that he could get up and walk over to her. Now standing before her, he held out his hand for her as he waited for her to accept it.

On a Sunday night, Il Valentino was a bit empty. There were only three elderly couples dancing perfectly to the jazzy music. Tommy had chosen to ask her to dance with him once the band started to sing, 'Make You Feel My Love'.

Felicity simply smiled and then took the napkin off her lap, placing it on the table. She accepted his hand before standing on her feet. Their hands lovingly connected as he led her to the tiny dance floor.

As they both danced, Felicity tried to maintain a calm presence. The butterflies in her stomach started to flutter around again, and she did not know if it was Tommy's hand, which was placed on the small of her back, or his other hand, which was tightly entangled with hers, or the fact that he had planned the perfect date. It was probably a combination of all of those things since she really could not determine what caused the butterflies in her stomach to nervously fly with joy.

"Tommy…" Felicity said as she turned her head around and then slightly titled it back so that she could look deeply into his eyes as they danced to the music.

"Yes, Beautiful?" Tommy replied, still giving her his famous little-boy grin.

"You gave me yellow tulips…" Felicity said as she continued to get lost in his beautiful brown eyes. "Why did you choose yellow tulips?" She was curious since they were her favorite flowers.

"Because they're your favorite flowers…" Tommy replied.

"How do know that they're my favorite?" Felicity was in complete shock, but her heart was slowly starting to melt with love for him.

"Well, remember when I was recovering those last few weeks at the hospital?" She lightly nodded. "One night, when you and Laurel were talking about flowers with Moira, you said that yellow tulips were your favorite, remember? I think the three of you were listening to Moira talk about her gardening plans or a party she was planning, honestly, I'm not really sure...Thanks to those strong pain pills, I was half asleep for most of that conversation...But, anyway, she asked you and Laurel for suggestions and that's when you told them about yellow tulips."

"We were actually talking about Walter's birthday party. How…" She gasped lightly before continuing. "I can't believe that you remembered that." She was quite amazed that he had still remembered. "You are just full of surprises, Mister." She simply smiled fondly at him.

They continued to gaze longingly and lovingly into each other's eyes for a long moment. Lost in the moment, their brains had become stagnant while their hearts decided to take complete control of their movements. They both slowly brought their faces closer. Once their faces were close enough, their lips connected.

A fire started to burn through both of their bodies. They stopped moving to the music, completely losing each other in their kiss. It was a light kiss that quickly turned into a passionate one as their tongues started to explore each other for the first time. No other man had made Felicity feel the way Tommy was making her feel at this moment, and as much she wanted to deny it, she had enjoyed every minute of their date, hoping that it never ended.

When their lips parted, she gave him a loving smile as they both tried to regain their breaths. He simply smiled back. They continued to stare into each other's eyes for a few more minutes before she turned her head away from his gaze so that she could rest it on his chest as he held her. As the music continued to play, they continued to hold each other.

Yellow tulips were her favorite flowers because they held a special importance in her life. Her father would always bring yellow tulips for her mother, and her mother had told her that yellow tulips were only to be given to the person that would have her heart; they were not to be given to friends or relatives, her mother would always remind her.

She hoped that Tommy simply saw them as her favorite flowers. Much to her dismay though, Tommy had given Felicity yellow tulips not only because they were her favorite, but because he was hopelessly in love with her. He probably had fallen for her from the minute his brown eyes had met her blues once he had finally opened them many months ago. Even though he was quite scared of what might happen between the two of them, he knew that he had never fallen so hard and fast for a woman. No one else would ever have his heart; it would forever belong to her. He just did not know it yet.


	12. Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid

_**N.B.: As always, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

* * *

_Chapter 12: Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid_

Since that eventful Friday night, Laurel and Oliver had continued to 'play tennis' as she and Felicity had called it. It was night five of their little agreement. However, tonight was a bit different from their previous nights together. Laurel had finally told him about New York and Oliver had finally started to tell her about the island.

Once Oliver told her about how his father died, he continued to tell her about all of the other horrors that he had experienced. Unable to control her emotions, her eyes glistened with tears as she continued to do her utmost best to keep them from falling. She needed to be strong for him.

"Laurel, I'm a completely damaged man. The things I've seen, the things I've done…" He took a deep sigh before continuing. "All of that has just left me shattered beyond repair that…"

"Stop…" She completely stopped him from continuing as she moved her naked body closer to his. The next thing he felt was her body on top of his, straddling him completely. "Oliver, you are here: alive and strong. You are the strongest and bravest man that I know. Those bastards did not change that. You went through hell on that god-forsaken island, but you came out stronger and braver than ever before. And look at what you have become now, Oliver: You are a true hero."

"Laurel, I am no…" Oliver started to say before she brought her hand up to his lips to place her index finger on them so that she could silence him.

"Stop…Don't you dare say that you are not a hero. You are a hero, Oliver. You have done so much good for so many people and for this city. You also have the most beautiful and pure heart that I have ever known. Even before the island, behind that whole jerk, playboy persona you put on, that was the man I always saw…The man that I had fallen in love with…That was my Oliver…" She gave him her classic Laurel Lance smile as she lowered her upper body forward slightly so that she could bring her head closer to his chest to kiss the scar right below his left shoulder.

He simply brought his hands up to her slim waist to hold her tightly as she continued to kiss her way around his body, making sure to kiss each and every single one of his scars.

"Turn around." Doing exactly as told, he turned around. She lifted her body slightly, resting her weight on her knees so that he could easily turn around. With his back now facing her, she started to kiss the massive scar on his lower back, giving it as much love and attention as all of his other scars.

From his head to his toes, she had not missed a single scar. Her eyes were still glistening with tears as she refused to let her tears fall. She loved him so much that any pain he felt she too could feel. Her heart ached for him. She wished she could simply get rid of those hellish memories that would continue to plague his mind, but she was incapable of doing that.

She stared at the scars on his back for a long moment before she felt him gently turn them both around so that he could now be on top of her. She still let out a soft giggle as he turned her over, despite her tear-filled eyes. With her body now lying beneath him, they both lovingly gazed into each other's eyes for a long moment.

"Ollie…" Laurel started to say as she brought her hands up to wrap them around his neck. "I wish I could erase everything they did to you so that you wouldn't be left with so many painful memories…" Her voice broke. "I never want you to go through any pain. I hope all of those imbeciles die a painful and horrible death and rot in hell for the rest of their lives for what they did to you." The tears that had so desperately wanted to fall finally did.

Speechless, he simply brought his head closer to hers as he gave her a tender kiss. He wished he had the strength to tell her that she was the reason he made out of that hellish island. She was the one that kept him going. As he continued to suffer, he would constantly tell himself that he needed to survive all of that hell so that he could make it out alive and find his way back to her.

Once their lips parted, they continued to gaze lovingly into each other's eyes as they both lay there silently. Throughout their years together, they were the type of couple that spent hours staring into each other's eyes without needing to utter a single word. They had that once in a lifetime type of love that most people spent their entire lives trying to find.

* * *

By the time morning came, they were both in Laurel's bedroom getting ready to face another day. Oliver, who was only wearing jeans, sat on the edge of her bed with his head in his hands.

"Ollie, is everything okay?" Laurel asked. With a bath towel wrapped tightly around her damp body, she picked up her hair and wrapped it in a messy bun as she stood before him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Oliver responded as he looked up at her and smiled.

"Well, you look like that every time you have a lot on your mind." Laurel replied as she pointed to his face and then walked over to her dresser to open the top drawer. "Start talking, Queen…" She turned her head to give him a playful wink and then continued to look for clothes to wear.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to talk." He quickly stood up and walked over to where she was standing. "You see…" Now standing behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pushed her body in closer to his. "There's this really hot, naked girl standing in this room, and…" He paused so that he could swiftly remove her towel, letting it fall to the floor as he started to place loving kisses on her neck. "She's completely distracting me…" He continued to kiss and suck her neck as he spoke, giving her entire body goose bumps. "She's making me lose all of my train of thought and…"

"Oliver, we can't…" Laurel started to say as she closed her eyes. She leaned her head back and brought one hand up to the back of his head, tangling her fingers through his hair while her other hand rested over one of his arms. As much as she wanted to control herself, she could not stop the soft moan that escaped her lips. Oliver had immediately raised her body temperature to boiling hot.

He gently and slowly moved one arm up, getting dangerously close to her heaving breasts. Completely falling under his seductive spell, she quickly turned her head to the side so that she could press her lips on to his. "Oliver Queen, you'll be the death of me!" Laurel declared as their lips briefly parted and connected again as she turned her whole body around to face him and climb into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.

With Laurel still in his arms and their tongues dancing passionately together, he started to walk them back to the bed. Before they both fell onto the bed, he swiftly turned around and then gently let her fall to the bed. They continued to kiss passionately for a long moment before she forcefully pulled her lips away from his. They were both panting heavily for a minute.

"Oliver…" He sighed heavily and then closed his eyes. He knew exactly what she wanted from him.

"Laurel, I'm fine." Opening his eyes again, he gave her a sad smile as she saw the evident stress in his eyes.

"Oliver, you sometimes forget how easy it is for me to read you. I can see right through you, remember?" She gave him a kind smile as she brought his face closer to hers so that their foreheads could connect. His face remained serious. "Is it the island? I know it must still be really hard to talk about it."

"It's not the island." Oliver simply replied as he stared deeply into her eyes. She fearfully swallowed her breath.

"Oliver…" She closed her eyes in frustration.

"Laurel, you don't have to go all the way to New York. If you're trying to run away from us, from me, then I'll do my best to stay out of your life. It will be hard, since we're friends with the same people, but it won't be impossible."

"Damn it, Oliver! Not everything is about you!" She let go of his neck and pushed him back slightly so that she could get off the bed. He watched as she got up to grab the sloppily rolled up bed sheet so that she could open it slightly to wrap it around her body.

"Laurel, I just don't want to be the reason you're leaving your friends and family. I don't want to be the reason you're leaving everything and everyone behind and…" He quickly moved up to sit on the edge of the bed.

"You are not the reason I am leaving!" Her voice was filled with so much devastation as she stood before him.

"Okay...Okay, Laurel, I just want to make sure you're not leaving because…"

"It is surely not because of you." She lied, hoping that he believed her.

"Laurel, I just really care about you and…It won't be easy having you out of my life." He struggled to speak. It was hard for him to accept that, in a mere few days, she would officially walk out of his life for good. "It's just…New York is so far away, and if, God forbid, anything were to happen…" It was too hard for him to finish that sentence. Just the thought of not being able to protect her made every ounce of his body ache with fear and sadness.

"As I have repeatedly told you, I don't need you to protect me. It is not your job to protect me, Oliver. You need to let me go. We are not together anymore, and the sooner you start to finally get that in your head, the better off you'll be. You have to let me go. I am not yours anymore and you sure as hell aren't mine, so…" He did not know it, but her already broken heart was shattering into a million pieces as she spoke.

"You know what, I'm sorry for caring. I can't stop caring for you and I sure as hell haven't stopped loving you." He quickly got up on his feet, standing just a couple of inches away from her. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you don't still love me." He brought his hand up to grab her chin so that he could gently move her head as he waited for her to respond. "Laurel, look at me." He finally managed to move her head so that their eyes could connect.

She knew there was no way he would believe her if he looked into her eyes, so there was only one way to escape this moment. She knew that what she was about to say would cause him so much pain, but it was the only way she could finally get rid of him. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes and then opened them again. "I stopped loving you the minute you took my sister with you on that damn boat. We tried to be together, but it just didn't work. It will never work, and it's all because of you. You ruined us, Oliver. You think I'll magically get over what you did?" She said as she stared straight into his soul, her heart breaking once she saw the pain that immediately tainted his blue eyes.

Unable to look at him any longer, she quickly walked out of her bedroom and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. With the bed sheet still wrapped around her body, she let her body fall to the cold floor as she waited for him to leave. She wished she could tell him how much she truly and deeply loved him, but she could not allow herself to do that. He was better off without her, and she knew it.

As she sat there, she was so occupied with emotion that she did not even hear Oliver leave her apartment a few minutes later.


	13. Now Those Days Are Memories in Time

_**N.B.: As always, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

* * *

_Chapter 13: Now Those Days Are Memories in Time_

"Why aren't you stopping her?" Felicity angrily asked as she walked down into the lair. She was now standing in front of Oliver, who was sitting on a chair, still wearing his Arrow uniform. "She leaves in less than seven hours, and here you are, doing nothing about it!"

"Felicity, I'm not going to stop her. If she wants to go, then she can go." Oliver simply replied.

"So you're giving up then?" Felicity hissed as she narrowed her eyebrows and glared at him.

"Felicity, I've tried to get her back, and it hasn't worked. Clearly, she doesn't feel the same way about me, so, yeah, I guess I am officially giving up; I will not stand in her way anymore."

"Oliver, I love you, but you can be such a big fat idiot sometimes that it just takes every ounce of me not to kill you!" Her hands formed into fists as she resisted the urge to strangle him.

"I will not keep her from living her life. She deserves to be happy, and, unfortunately, her happiness doesn't include me."

"Okay, not only are you a big fat idiot, you're also very stupid." Felicity angrily shook her head as she started to walk back and forth around him.

"Felicity, let's not talk about this anymore. She leaves in the morning, and you too need to accept the fact that I can't stop her. I finally have, and you should too. Now, did you get any more information on this other vigilante? Roy said it's a woman, but I need you to look…"

Bringing her hand up to stop him, Felicity let out an angry shrug as she stopped him from continuing. "Oh, no, Mister, you are not changing the subject! Diggle and I were working for you yesterday, making me late for Laurel's Thanksgiving dinner, and making Diggle late for his first Thanksgiving with Carly and her parents."

"I told the two of you not to help me, remember? I told you I'd take care of things on my own." He gave her a charming grin that made her even more furious.

"Right…Because the last time I checked, you were absolutely amazing at decoding government encryptions and breaking down firewalls! Also, you worked alone tonight, and where did that get you?" She cocked her head back as she gave him an admonishing look.

"Nowhere, apparently…" Oliver let his head fall with annoyance. He had been unsuccessful at finding the new vigilante that had made her presence known just two days ago. It was Roy who had informed the Arrow about her, except, Oliver as the Arrow did not believe him until she had helped him take down an embezzler last night. If she had not come to his rescue, he probably would have been in a worse predicament. "Okay, fine, no Arrow related business." He took a heavy sigh before looking back up at her. "How was your Thanksgiving?"

"You're still trying to change the subject, but since you asked, it was great but strange. You know, Tommy warned me about Laurel's cooking, but I didn't believe him. Once I saw that turkey, that's when I finally realized that Laurel cannot cook. She shouldn't even be near anything that relates to cooking. I mean, that turkey was black. I'm talking like completely charred to death; I'm surprised she didn't set the apartment on fire!" She grimaced as she pictured the turkey Laurel had cooked last night. Oliver simply let out a light chuckle. "It looked like a giant piece of charcoal shaped like a turkey…That poor turkey…" In any other moment, he would have found Felicity's rambling rather frustrating, but tonight, he was absolutely grateful for it.

"So I take it you didn't have turkey on Thanksgiving?"

"Of course not…What were we going to eat, the bones? Which would have probably been charred to death also, but, anyway, we had pumpkin pie instead. The mashed potatoes were chunky and brown and her cranberry sauce was as hard as a rock and her stuffing, well, that was inside the turkey...Oh and Laurel had made a sweet potato pie that looked like a mushy, inedible mess, so my pumpkin pie definitely saved the day!" She brought her shoulders back as remembered why she had decided to come and see him. "Wait, I didn't come here to talk about my Thanksgiving!"

"Felicity, it's been a long night, let's just call it a day and get some sleep." Oliver said as he started to get up from the chair, only to be stopped by Felicity who had placed her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to sit back down.

"No, nice try! You are going to stop the love of your life from leaving tomorrow!" Felicity declared as she let go of his shoulders and stood before him.

"Felicity…" Oliver started with annoyance.

"No, you are going to go down to that airport tomorrow morning and stop her! Oliver, she is your heart and soul, she is your everything, and you cannot let her slip away!"

He waited silently for a few minutes before he spoke. "She's already gone. I lost her the minute I asked her sister to come with me on that boat." His tone scared her. There was so much devastation and anger in his voice.

"Oliver, that's in the past now. You need to focus on the present." A long moment of silence befell them before he broke it.

"November 1st."

Felicity furrowed her eyebrows at him, a look of confusion on her face. "Uh, I'm not sure what you're saying, but it's actually the 29th." His eyes glared at her with irritation. "And there's probably a story that follows that date because you obviously know what day it is, anyway, sorry, continue…" She shook her head apologetically and then waited for him to tell her more.

"Ever since Laurel was twelve, she would wait for that day. She would make a countdown every year called, '304 Days before the Holiday Season,' and she would wait for that day every year. Once November 1st came around, she would take out of all the Christmas decorations, start listening to Christmas music…" He closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep sigh as he remembered those simple times. "She loved everything about the Christmas season. It was her favorite time of the year. Growing up, the Lance house was decked from top to bottom in Christmas lights, an inflatable Santa, reindeer, snowmen, everything...Their house shined so bright, you could probably see it from a mile away." He gave her a bitter laugh before looking straight into her eyes. "Now, she doesn't even put up any Christmas decorations. And last year, Tommy informed me that Sara's death didn't just destroy Laurel's Christmas cheer, but her father's as well. I completely ruined one of the happiest moments of their lives."

"Oliver, you didn't ruin anything." Felicity added as she tried to reassure him caringly.

"Really, I didn't?" Oliver lightly shook his head before continuing. "I had the girl of dreams, and I failed her. Every damn time, I failed her. She was pure perfection, but I was too stupid and too much of a jerk to appreciate her. I didn't appreciate what I had. I repeatedly broke her heart, but she still continued to forgive me. She was the only one who believed in me, and how did I respond to that? I completely ripped her heart out of her chest way too many times to count. And to top it all off, I ask her sister to come with me on my dad's boat. Felicity, I asked her _sister _to come with me on that damn boat. I completely destroyed everything. I destroyed her, her family, and Sara…"

He stopped to take a deep breath. Felicity saw the tears that started to develop in the corners of his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. "I killed Sara. If I had not asked her to come with me, then she would still be here, with her family, and they all wouldn't be so broken."

"Oliver, you need to stop blaming yourself for her death. You are not the reason she died. Malcolm killed her, Oliver, not you." Felicity walked closer to him to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"No, you see, Felicity, you didn't know Laurel before the island. She was such a bubbly person. She immediately brightened people's lives the minute she encountered them. She was so carefree, so happy, so vibrant, and so vivacious. And now…" He clenched his teeth as he remembered a different Laurel. A happy Laurel. His Laurel. "Now, she's so distraught and distant; she's completely broken. I broke her, Felicity, and after being the cause of her pain, you want me to fight for her? I have no right to fight for her, because she deserves better. I sure as hell do not deserve her after all that I have done. I am going to let her go, because I lost my right to have a say or a place in her life a long time ago."

Felicity tightened her grip of his shoulder. "Oliver, I may not have known you then, but I do know you now. You may not think so, but you are a good person. And there was something remarkable that came from Sara's passing. Out of that we got a hero. You honor her every single day by protecting and saving the lives of others."

Her heart broke for them, but she was known for her impeccable trustworthiness and loyalty. It was why Oliver trusted her in the first place and why she and Laurel had developed such a strong friendship in a short amount of time. "The important thing is that you have changed. Everyone from your past sees that, even Laurel." She gave him a caring smile. _If you only knew the real reason behind Laurel's heartache._

"Felicity, thank you, but no matter what, it doesn't change the way I feel about what I have done. Now, let's call it a day and get some rest. I'm done talking about this." He patted her hand lightly before she let go of his shoulder so that he could quickly stand on his feet.

"It's still too much, I know…" Felicity added. She knew that Laurel's departure was hurting him more than it was hurting anyone else. She gave him a kind smile before she turned around to leave him.

She walked a few steps forward before she stopped and turned around to face him again. "Oliver, just promise me that you'll think about coming to the airport tomorrow. Her flight leaves at 9:20AM, and, even though she won't admit it, she would really love it if you came to say goodbye. Promise me you'll think about coming, I know it's hard, but…" She waited for him to respond. He simply nodded gently and then gave her a sad smile. She smiled brightly in return. "Goodnight, Oliver." She finally turned around and continued to walk her way down to the exit.

Once Felicity left, he sat back down on the chair and let his head fall in his hands as he remembered what he had lost. He had it all, but lost it in an instant, and come morning, he would never get it back.


	14. We Lost It All

_**N.B.: As always, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**Firstly, Happy New Year! :D **_

_**I apologize for the delayed update. Hoping to have another update before Sunday (fingers crossed).**_

_**To kindleflame5 and highlander348, I am definitely considering a BC route for Laurel, however, since I have never read the comics, it will be handled a bit differently since I use the show as an inspirational starting point. :)  
**_

_**To Manuela, all I have to say is that I am a mad Lauriver shipper. ;)**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

* * *

_Chapter 14: We Lost It All_

"Dad, you haven't said much since this morning." Laurel asked as she stood in front of her father at the airport with Tommy and Felicity standing by his side. They were all standing quite a fare distance away from the entrance of Laurel's boarding gate.

"I just…I'll miss you…Very much…" Quentin sadly replied as he put a hand through his thinning hair, unable to look at his daughter.

"Dad…" Laurel started with annoyance.

"No, Laurel. New York is so far away, and I won't be there with you." Quentin said as he still struggled to let her go.

"Dad, we've been over this…" Laurel reminded him as he simply shrugged his shoulders before speaking.

"Laurel, you're my only daughter, and I know you said that you're doing this for you, but…" He took a deep sigh.

"Dad, you raised me, remember? You taught me how to protect myself. You taught me how to stand on my own two feet. You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself; you've made sure of that." Laurel informed him as she put her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug. "And, it's like grandma always says…"

"If you love something, let it go…Yeah, yeah, yeah…Let's just hope you come back to me soon." Quentin finished as they both pulled apart slightly while their hands connected. "I'm gonna miss you, kiddo." He finally gave her a warm and loving smile.

"I'll call you every day, and we're Facetiming every day too, okay? You're going to have to start using that Ipad I got you for your birthday." Laurel informed him as she smiled brightly.

"I don't even know how to turn that giant thing on." Quentin shamelessly admitted as Tommy, Felicity, and Laurel chuckled lightly.

"No worries, Detective, I'll teach you how to use it." Felicity proudly offered as she smiled fondly at the older man.

"And he's also do for a phone upgrade in a month." Laurel was looking straight at Felicity. "Make sure he upgrades to an Iphone."

"Great, an even more complicated phone than the one I have now." Quentin said as he rolled his eyes and pulled Laurel back in for a hug. Laurel simply smiled at her father.

"I love you, Daddy." Laurel lovingly said as they held each other tightly. When they pulled apart slightly, Laurel placed a kiss on his cheek before letting him go.

Now it was Tommy's turn to say goodbye. "Dinah Laurel Lance, this definitely isn't goodbye." Tommy said as he hugged her tightly. "You can't get rid of us that easily." Tommy kindly whispered in her ear as she laughed lightly.

"I'm going to miss you, Tommy." Laurel sadly said as they held onto each other for a long moment before they pulled apart.

Finally, it was Felicity's turn. "Once a month, as promised?" Laurel questioned as she approached the blonde.

"Once a month at least or more, as promised..." Felicity reassured her as they hugged. If there was anyone that hated goodbyes more than Laurel, it was Felicity. Her eyes started to well up with tears as she hugged her dear friend tightly.

Once they pulled apart, Laurel looked at all of them one last time. "I am going to miss you all so much." She gave them a sad smile as she took a deep breath. "Alright, I should get going; I don't want to miss my flight. I love you all! This isn't goodbye, I promise."

"Call us the minute you land." Felicity said before Laurel started to walk away from them. Laurel simply smiled at them and nodded gently. They all stood there as they watched her turn around and slowly leave them. The tears that had formed in Felicity's eyes finally started to stream down her face. She quickly wiped them away so that she could comfort Quentin who looked like he was in a state of shock and disbelief.

Quentin, Tommy, and Felicity had stood there, watching her for a good fifteen minutes before waving a final goodbye to her and then leaving the airport; it would simply be too hard to stay and watch her officially leave them.

* * *

The line to her boarding gate's entrance was long. It did not surprise her since it was Thanksgiving weekend. However, she technically was still in Starling City, so she did not mind waiting in the long line because it meant that she was still home.

"Laurel…" She opened her eyes wide as she heard him call her name. She knew who it was. She turned to look at him. Without even thinking, she walked out of the long and busy line and then started to approach him. She would definitely lose her place in line, but she did not care.

"Oliver…" Finally standing before him, she stared deeply into his blue eyes. "What are you doing here?" After hurting him with her words, she was surprised that he had even shown up at the airport.

"I wanted to say…" He could not say it out loud. "I wanted to come to wish you well." That sounded corny, but it was easier to say.

"Oh...Um..." She sighed heavily, her stomach becoming very uncomfortable. "Thank you for coming." She sheepishly replied. She wished she could just jump into his arms and stay there forever, but she could not.

"Laurel, I…" He closed his eyes and then opened them again, sighing heavily. "I wish you the best on this new chapter in your life."

She gave him a sad smile. She knew just how hard this was for him and it broke her heart to see him in this much pain. "Oliver, promise me something." She immediately threw herself into his arms. He happily accepted as he held her against his body tightly.

"Anything…" Oliver replied as he tightened the grip of the hand that was now on the small of her back while his other hand got lost in her smooth hair.

She slightly tilted herself back so that she could look straight into his beautiful blue eyes again. "First, please never forget that you are a true hero. You might not want to believe it, but you need to start believing it, Mister. If not for yourself, then do it for your father and for Sara." She gave him a caring smile. "And second, promise me that you'll find happiness. Please be happy, because you, Oliver Queen, deserve a life of happiness. "

She was definitely making it harder than it already was. "Laurel, I just want you to be happy also; it's all I've ever wanted for you. If New York is where you'll be happy, then I'm happy for you."

If this was the last time that she would ever be in his arms, then she was going to make it memorable. She smiled at him before she immediately connected her lips to his, giving him a deep and passionate kiss that took both of their breaths away.

The kiss lasted until they both needed to breathe again. As they pulled apart, their foreheads connected. "Goodbye, Oliver." She gave him one soft kiss on the cheek before completely pulling herself away from his embrace. She turned around quickly and started to walk away from him.

"Goodbye, Laurel…" He whispered, watching her walk away. As she continued to make her way back to the long line, he noticed her shoulders starting to tremble, and it was then that he knew she was crying.

Just the thought of her crying was enough to make his entire body ache with pain. He never wanted her to experience any pain. Since it was hard thinking about her in any sad state, it was even harder to see it in real life, so he closed his eyes and turned around.

Opening his eyes again, he left the airport with his already broken heart shattering even more, becoming completely shattered beyond repair.

* * *

"Did you unmask her yet?" Felicity asked from her desk as she typed with velocity.

"Whoever she is, she's really good." Diggle chimed in as he sat on the edge of the computer desk by Felicity.

"No, she was absent tonight." Oliver simply replied as he walked around his lair before finally joining them.

"So, judging by the tone in your voice, you're clearly having a bad night." Diggle said as he crossed his arms over his chest and then leaned back slightly.

"Before I say what I'm about to say, can we please not be the ones to have an arrow put in us." Felicity swiveled her chair around to face him. Looking up at him, she opened her eyes wide. "Okay, I know saying goodbye to Laurel was hard, so we just want make sure you're doing okay. How are you doing with her moving away?" She saw his facial expression change into a much angrier one. "Please don't hurt us." Felicity put her hands up.

"I'm fine." Oliver informed them, his tone filled with anger.

"Which is code for, 'Let's drop the subject before I kill you,' right, Oliver?" Diggle teased as Oliver simply glared at them.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a vigilante to unmask." Oliver ignorantly stated as he rapidly walked over to the staircase.

"Typical..." Diggle remarked as he and Felicity looked at each other with frustration and defeat.

"He's definitely taking it harder than I thought he would." Felicity worriedly said to Diggle as she watched him disappear.

"I guess things are going to get even crazier now." Diggle retorted as he shook his head. "Complicated isn't even the proper term to describe whatever you call their...Well, whatever they are to each other…"

"They definitely give new meaning to, 'it's complicated,' that's for sure." Felicity sadly added, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Well, I am going to go help him so he doesn't do anything stupid. See you soon." Diggle said as he started to gather the things he needed before going on an Arrow mission with Oliver.

Felicity swivelled her chair around, returning her attention back to the computer screen as she thought of Laurel and Oliver. She wished that fate would be kind to her two best friends, but she was reluctantly starting to realize that fate was not on Oliver or Laurel's side.

* * *

Once Laurel arrived in New York, she had gone straight from the airport to her hotel, not wanting to do anything else. She needed to search for a place to live, but she decided to leave all important matters for the next day. Saying farewell to her father, friends, and Oliver just a few hours prior was just too much.

As she lay in her hotel bed, new tears started to stream down her face. Her body curled up into the fetal position as she continued to cry herself to sleep. The dreams that she had so desperately wanted to come true no longer would, and she was slowly starting to accept that since there was simply no other way to deal with it.


	15. Somewhere Only We Know

_**N.B.: As always, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**To highlander348, I have never read the comics, so even if I did include it in a natural way, I feel that I still would not be doing it justice (although if an idea does come up, then that may change ;)). So, for now, I think I'll stick with keeping things as real as possible. :(**_

_**To OllielovesDinah, thank you for your kind words (always making me smile and keeping me motivated). Just remember that I'm on team Lauriver. ;) **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners. For those who watched PLL season 1, you may remember something from that show (I do not own that either).**_

* * *

_Chapter 15: Somewhere Only We Know_

Eight months had passed since Laurel had left Startling City for New York. In those eight months, it seemed as though everyone's lives continued evolving into something better, while Laurel's life remained stagnant.

A lot had happened in the span of eight months. Felicity and Tommy's relationship had become stronger. Tommy had now moved in with Felicity and after six months together, Tommy had officially proposed. Felicity had surprised herself by immediately saying yes. As scared as she was, this was the happiest she had ever been, so she had finally decided to drop all her fears and simply live.

Thea wanted to start her own event planning business, so she spent a lot of time studying and reading all about the entrepreneurial world. Her relationship with Roy was also going great, and it continued to get better as each day passed.

Even Joanna was engaged to the love of her life and was getting married in less than a year. Yes, it definitely seemed as though all of her friends were happily moving on with their lives while she was stuck, her life standing still.

Living in New York was far more different from living in Starling City, but, to keep her close friends and her dad off her back, she had to pretend that she loved everything about it. The truth was that as each day passed, she was slowly dying inside. She had spent the first two months crying herself to sleep, and after that, there were simply no more tears left to fall. Her heart slowly started to become more frozen as she distanced herself from the carefree woman she used to be so many years ago.

She may have fooled her father and Tommy, but Felicity could see right through her. Her father would visit every so often and Felicity, as promised, visited at least once a month. At times, Tommy would join her also. She loved their visits, but once they left, she hated the painful feeling of facing reality all by herself again.

Upon moving, she simply disconnected herself from everyone in this new city, refusing to let anyone else enter her life. She loved New York as a city, but she constantly missed home. She wanted more than anything to be somewhere familiar, but she knew that it was easier to be as far away from home as possible. After all, Oliver was home, and, for the sake of her heart, she needed to stay far away from him. It was simply less painful that way.

* * *

Laurel took a deep sigh as she sat on a bench. On early Sunday mornings, she would get her coffee from her favorite nearby café and then come to Central Park to maintain whatever little bit of sanity she had left. She would take a short stroll around the iconic park and then rest on a bench, taking in the beauty that only Central Park could offer. It was the only place in the city that gave her a much-needed sense of peace and simplicity. It was her tiny ray of sunshine amongst the darkness.

Dressed rather casually in dark-washed skinny jeans, a cream-colored shirt, and beige Toms, she took a sip from her vanilla latte as she smiled at the beautiful image before her. She gazed happily at the beautiful birds dancing around the elm trees. Oh how she missed the simply things. If only she could take herself back to much simpler times.

As she sat there, captivated by the natural beauty, she did not even notice a man standing quite a fair distance away from her, discreetly watching her every move. Little did she know that this would be the man that would turn her already messed up world upside down.

* * *

_Three Days Later..._

"She's going to be really happy to see you." Oliver reassured Sara who was sitting across from him in the lair.

Just two weeks prior, after a long and stressful few months of failed attempts, Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle had finally unmasked the new vigilante.

After their discovery, it took a few days of convincing and utter disbelief, but the younger Lance had finally agreed to tell her family that she was alive. So far, the only Lance member that knew about her survival was Quentin. It was now time to tell her mother and sister. It was, as Felicity had told Oliver and Sara, the right thing to do, despite how dangerous it would be.

Today, Felicity had taken an early morning flight to New York. She was going to convince Laurel to come back with her to Starling City so that she could finally see Sara, but, of course, Felicity thought it would be a better idea if they surprised her with the news instead. The plan was to get to New York, come up with a believable story that would get Laurel to come back for a few days, and then surprise her with Sara. Just an hour prior, Felicity had sent Oliver a text telling him to immediately meet her at Verdant. When he got to Verdant, Sara was already waiting for him.

"I guess I'll find out soon. What's Felicity going to tell her anyway? I mean, how is she going to convince Laurel to come back with her? I hear she hasn't been back once, and, if she's still the same Laurel, which, let's hope she still is, we both know how much she hates surprises." Sara said, folding her arms over her chest as she leaned back slightly on the chair.

"She'll like this surprise, trust me." Oliver said, as he stood before her, his hands in his pockets.

"You don't seem too excited about seeing her." Oliver gave her a confused look. "Felicity tells me that you two lost complete contact with each other after she left."

Oliver took a deep and heavy sigh, closing his eyes briefly. "That's what she wanted."

"You miss her?" It was not really a question.

Oliver glared at her and then angrily pressed his lips together. It was bad enough knowing that Laurel was out of his life, meaning that she was not his and he was not hers. He really did not need to express his feelings out loud. Right before he started to open his mouth to speak, the sound of heels clicking against the floor caught their attention.

"Okay, so you know how two nights ago I said I was worried about Laurel not responding to my messages or calls?" Felicity asked as she walked over to them. Both Sara and Oliver turned their attention to her.

"Is Laurel upstairs?" Sara questioned as she immediately stood up, completely disregarding Felicity's comment.

"No, she's not with me." Both Oliver and Sara gave her looks of utter confusion.

Felicity took an exasperated sigh. Something was not right. Oliver could feel it. "I don't know where she is?"

"What do you mean you don't know where she is? I thought you went to New York to get her?" Sara asked as she let her arms fall to her sides.

"I did, but when I got to her place of work, she wasn't there. Then her boss told me that she hasn't shown up to work at all this week. So then, I went to New York Presbyterian to ask Carter if he knew anything, and he too hasn't heard from her in more than a week. After all of that, I went to her apartment. Since no one answered after knocking for a good five minutes, I used the key she gave me."

"And…" Sara said, a worried expression on her face.

"She wasn't there. I tried to see if there was anything out of the ordinary, but nothing really was. Her apartment didn't show any signs of a break-in. I went to her room and found her purse sitting on the bed, with her cell-phone right beside it. She hasn't checked any of my calls or texts. Well, not just mine, everybody's. I checked her home phone too...Nothing...So I searched for other signs, but everything looked fine."

"She wouldn't leave without her purse and cell-phone, would she? What about her wallet? ID?" Sara continued to question as Oliver simply stood in silence, his face displaying a look of fear.

"Wallet, ID...Everything is in her purse." Felicity sadly replied as she swallowed her breath. "I asked some of her neighbors, and they don't know anything either. And Her landlord wasn't of any help."

"Something's not right." Oliver finally said as he removed his hands from his pockets and then walked over to one of the computers, leaning forward to type in a password. "Felicity, can you hack into her emails, phone records, bank account activity, hospital information systems, any relevant surveillance system...Everything…See if there's anything out of the ordinary."

"Yeah, I already started to do that." She held up her tablet to show them what she had found. "I started with her email accounts, and, so far, I haven't found anything that's a cause for alarm." Felicity held out the tablet for Sara so that she could have a better view. "Maybe we should alert the authorities?"

"NYPD?" Oliver called out from where he was standing.

"Both." Sara added as she left Felicity and walked over to Oliver. "SCPD needs to be on this too. Let's call my dad."

"Could she even be in Starling City though?" Felicity asked as both Sara and Oliver turned to look at her.

"We don't anything yet, but it's probably better to get the police involved. When was the last time you spoke to her?" Sara asked as she stared intently at Felicity.

"Saturday night." Felicity replied as she frowned sadly. "We talk every single day. Sometimes even more than once a day, so Laurel not replying to my messages or answering my calls is very unlike her."

"Yeah, she calls my dad everyday too and the last time he spoke to her was Saturday morning. He's been worried ever since, but I told him not to think much of it." Sara sighed heavily before continuing. She should have known better. "I'm going to go and talk to him. See what he can do on his end."

_She had to be okay, right? We're all just overreacting, and, maybe, being a little overprotective._ Felicity walked over to Sara and Oliver. As she stood by Oliver, she gave him a sad smile. Looking into his eyes made her heart break. There was so much pain, fear, worry, and just about every other sad emotion imaginable in those blue eyes of his. After all, they were talking about Laurel. His Laurel.

She mentally started to curse herself for starting to think about possible scenarios, each one more painful than the other. In their line of work, anything could be possible. Shaking her head as a way to free herself from any negative thinking, she walked around Oliver to the swivel chair and sat on it as Oliver and Sara stood behind her. _We're overreacting. We have to be._

"Before we alert the authorities, why don't we do some investigative work of our own first. I mean, maybe she finally decided to go on a vacation; she hasn't been on one in years. And oh boy, does she need one! She sure doesn't have to go far for a vacation though, because she lives in New York now; there's already so much to do there. She probably wants some time alone from us, you know? Well, by us, I mean Tommy, her dad, and me, just not the two of you, because, well, she doesn't speak to you anymore..." She turned to look at Oliver "And she thinks you're dead...Were dead...I mean just...That she doesn't know that you're alive..." Felicity pressed her lips together and closed her eyes apologetically before turning around to look at Sara. Sara immediately gave her a kind smile that put her back at ease.

"Maybe that's why she hasn't answered our calls or messages. Let me get into her accounts to see if I can find anything that can help us. If that's not helpful, then I'll start with her apartment's surveillance system and then we can go from there. We need to look at this from every angle before making any conclusions." She returned her attention back to the computer screen as she connected a USB cable to the tablet that was now on her lap. "I mean we have to stay positive and hopeful; I'm sure we're just overreacting."

"Well, I don't like relying on hope because it breeds eternal misery, as I keep telling you, Felicity. And I'd much rather be realistic instead of positive." Sara remarked as she looked at Oliver. Leave it to Sara Lance to give her pessimistic view on the situation. "Why would she not show up to work? Just like that, with no notice, or anything? And if she did go on a vacation, why would she go without her phone, her ID...I know my sister is much smarter than that." Felicity turned her attention back onto Sara as she let out a sad sigh. As much as she wanted to remain positive, Felicity realized that Sara was right. It was very unlike Laurel to act in this way.


	16. Life Can Show No Mercy

_**To highlander348, thankfully, I've thought of a way to have Laurel get her Canary cry. Since I don't want to spoil it, it should be revealed soon. :D**_

_**To kindleflame5, I apologize for the delayed reply to your questions, but Sara has joined the team automatically, with no required invitation, lol. And it has not yet been revealed directly why Laurel left or how she truly feels about Oliver. That will all be revealed as the story progresses (were getting really close to that part ;)). I apologize for any confusion and I hope that things are a bit clearer now. :)  
**_

_**To red lighting, thank you so much for your lovely words! You are so sweet! ;)**_

_**Lastly, I hope that chapter 15 and the chapters that follow uploaded properly since I've been having issues with the site for the past week (hope that the issue has been fixed by now). **_

_**I know I keep writing long notes before chapters, but there are simply not enough words to tell all of you Lovelies how truly awesome you are for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting...I can never thank you enough! **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners. **_

* * *

_Chapter 16: Life Can Show No Mercy_

Laurel's eyes finally fluttered opened. Her body was tired, weak, and in pain. Once she opened her eyes fully, she started to take in her surroundings. She was surprised to see no one there. That was a first. She was alone in what seemed to look like an empty and small office space. She did not know where she was and for how long she had been in this vacant and dingy place. It all simply felt like she had been in this hellish state for an eternity.

She turned her head to see if anything was different. Nothing really was. Everything was pretty much the same as it was just a short while ago, when two masked men were torturing her, as she sat there, unable to defend herself. She really could not defend herself since her wrists and ankles were tightly tied to a strong metal chair. There were times when she would try to untie the thick and painful rope that dug so painfully into her skin, but she was unsuccessful each time. Either way, she was stuck, with no way out. Her captors, whoever they were, had done a pretty good job at keeping her incapable of doing anything to save herself.

Sighing, she closed her eyes as she tried her best to keep herself from crying. She did not know what else to do. _Should I cry, scream, vomit, or all of that…Would anyway of that make a difference?_

She did not know how she had gotten to this place. She simply remembered being in Central Park, sitting on a bench, and after that? She sighed heavily, everything after that was black. Something must have happened after that. She was sure it had. She tried to remember better. For the past five days, she would constantly try to replay the events of that warm Sunday morning in her head. After leaving Central Park, she remembered walking back to her favorite café to order a second latte. She closed her eyes as a way to gauge her memory.

Each day she would try to replay those events in her head, hoping to, somehow, figure out the why, the how, and the where. She simply could not remember anything else past the café part. She never could remember anything that would help her understand why this was happening to her. _I guess trouble seems to follow me no matter where I am…Lucky me…_

Wherever she was, she knew one thing was for sure. There was no Oliver to save her, which really meant that there was no Team Arrow to come in and save the day. She took a painful swallow as she finally realized that there truly was no one here to save her. She was alone. And as each day passed, she, sadly, was starting to feel like she did not deserve to be saved.

As painful as it was, she moved her head, letting it fall down as she looked at her body. Left in only her white bra and panties, she saw the few bruises that already started to cover quite a massive part of her body. Her captors were ruthless when it came to beating her. She closed her eyes again as she mentally cried, trying her best not to think of those torturous moments and how utterly humiliated and violated she felt.

She was tired, and not just physically, but mentally. There were times when she held onto to hope. Hope that she would be freed from the hell that she was experiencing. However, now, she simply wanted it to be over. She wanted for _all_ of it to be over. That was probably why, now, barely any noise came out of her mouth when they punched her, kicked her, slapped her, and did everything imaginable to make her weak, too weak to even breathe or think properly. By now, it hurt to move, to think, to breathe; everything became excessively painful, and she had finally had enough.

A few minutes later, a door opened, quickly bringing her out of her thoughts. She saw one of her attackers hold the door for another man. Her vision slightly blurry, she could faintly see that he was dressed professionally in a suit. As painful as it was to move her head, she finally looked up to get a good look of his face. She noticed that one of his eyes was covered with an eye patch. She had never seen this man before. _Was this the boss? The head honcho of this entire operation? Who the hell is this guy?_

Her heart started to tremble with fear as he walked closer to her. Once he was close enough, he leaned forward and held out his hand, bringing it up to her cheek. She closed her eyes as she tried her utmost best to keep herself from vomiting.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the smug smirk that appeared on his face.

"Who are you?" She asked, her voice low but surprisingly firm.

"You really don't know who I am?" The evil smirk on his face fearfully sent shivers down her spine.

_Am I supposed to know him? And, judging by his accent, h__e has to be Australian, right? _"Am I supposed to know you?" She turned her head around slightly as a way to remove his hand from her cheek. She really should not have done that because once she turned her head, her eyes caught sight of something disturbing. Her mind started to panic nervously when she saw a syringe in one of his assistant's hands and a small paring knife in the other. This would surely end badly and painfully.

"He hasn't told you about me, has he?" She watched him stand back up, straightening his posture as he let out a devilish laugh.

Laurel slightly looked back at him with frustration. She was now even more confused than before. Was she supposed know this man? Who was supposed to tell her about him? She stared at him, her eyes blank as her entire body started to shiver the minute she saw him gesture for one of his assistant's to come forward.

She watched the Australian man take the syringe from him and then quickly turn around, leaving the room as he angrily shut the door behind him.

What she saw next forced the tears that she had so desperately held back for months to stream down her face. His assistant stood in front of her and leaned forward as he placed the knife dangerously close to her neck.

At that moment, she closed her eyes and swallowed hard as an image of Oliver appeared in her mind. She pictured him smiling, giving her that gorgeous smile of his that always put her at ease. In that painful moment, he was the one who brought her comfort and made her feel safe. He was the only person on the planet who was capable of giving her that. He was, after all, her air when she could not breathe during painful moments, and as long as she held onto to him—even if she was mentally holding onto to him—there was no darkness that she could not overcome.

* * *

"Why the hell can't we find her?" Felicity angrily said as she took her glasses off and then threw them on the desk out of frustration. For the past two days, she, Oliver, Diggle, and Sara had done everything they possibly could to find Laurel. By now, it was slowly but surely becoming a lost cause, but they were not going to give up. They needed to find her, and they were going to stop at nothing to get her back.

"Well, if she was taken, whoever took her has done a really good job of being untraceable. There could be another possibility though." Diggle said as he sat on the edge of the desk by Felicity.

Felicity leaned her back on the chair as she stared into his eyes. "She could have run away without leaving a single trace." Diggle stopped, drawing in a breath before he added one other possibility. "Or, there could still be a more evident possibility…And I don't mean to offend anyone, or be insensitive in any way, but she could have, possibly, well…You know, maybe ended it all…"

Felicity immediately brought up a hand to stop him. "No! She is alive and we are going to find her! We just…" She sighed heavily. She knew Laurel was not happy, but she would have never willingly put an end to her life.

She just simply could not think like that. She knew Laurel would never do anything that drastic. _She wouldn't...Would she? _"We just have to keep trying." She closed her eyes briefly before Tommy started coming down the stairs and then speed-walked his way to where she and Diggle were seated. Felicity quickly stood on her feet. "Tommy…" She could tell by the expression on his face that something was wrong. "What's the matter? Is everything okay?" She put a comforting arm on his shoulder.

"No…I don't think so…" Tommy closed his eyes and then let out a heavy sigh. Bringing up his right hand, he quickly removed Felicity's hand from his shoulder and then connected it to his, interlocking their fingers.

"Tommy, you're really scaring me." Felicity said as Diggle also got off the table and walked closer to them.

"I think you need to sit down." Tommy said as he tried to guide her back to the chair that she had previously occupied. She immediately stopped him.

"No! Tommy, what's going on?" Her voice was angry as she waited for him to speak. Tommy was silent for a minute before responding.

"Sara just called me…They…Uh…They found a body in the Hudson River, and they've asked Mr. Lance to fly down there to…Um…Identify it...Sara said she already told Oliver…And...God, he's a mess, Felicity…We need to get to him now…" Tommy explained as tears started to appear in the corners of his eyes.

"No…No, it's not…It can't be…" Felicity cried as she immediately threw herself into Tommy's arms. He quickly wrapped his arms around her as he held her tightly.

Tommy closed his eyes as he remembered Laurel. The one who had helped him become the man he was today. She had unknowingly changed his life for the better. He refused to believe that _that_ Laurel was gone. No, their Laurel was still alive. She had to be. This had to be some sort of mistake.


	17. On the Highway of Regret

_**N.B.: As always, THANK YOU so much for reading, reviewing, following, favouriting, etc.: YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME! I truly appreciate the time you take to do all that.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.**_

* * *

_Chapter 17: On the Highway of Regret_

"I should've never let her get on that damn plane." Oliver said as he let his head fall in his hands. He was sitting on a bar stool, inside Verdant, with Felicity, Tommy, and Diggle standing around him. It had already been too hard to accept the fact that Laurel had moved so far away. Now, they could not find her and that utterly scared him.

These past few days had been brutal. His heart, his mind, and everything else were aching for Laurel. He was so broken inside, but he never would admit that to his friends and family.

He wished and hoped for a second chance. He would give anything to get another chance to hold Laurel in his arms again, tell her that he was incomplete without her, to simply hear her beautiful voice again, to gaze into her eyes and have her gaze back into his; there was nothing he would not do to have her back in his life.

"If it's her…If she's…" He closed his eyes in frustration.

"Oliver, we haven't heard anything yet." Diggle reminded him as he placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder.

"I completely fucked up her life! I never should have gotten close to her when I came back!"

"Oliver, you need to stop blaming yourself for every single thing." Felicity said as she walked closer to him. "Not everything that happens to Laurel or to us is because of you."

"Yeah, buddy, this is Laurel we're talking about. She's a badass, that's something we all know. She can definitely protect herself. Just you wait…In a few days she'll probably call us and tell us that she just needed some time for herself. And then her dad will go all nutso on her and we'll all be very annoyed and angry with her for lying and making us lose our minds, and she'll…" Oliver looked up and glared at Tommy. His eyes were filled with so much anger it almost scared everyone away.

"Laurel's not that reckless..." Oliver interrupted, his voice filled with so much fury. Felicity simply blinked away the tears that had started to form in her eyes as she and Tommy shared a look.

Diggle, Tommy, and Felicity simply had nothing else to say. They truly did not know if there was anything else they could possibly say or do to help him.

A long moment of silence followed before a ding from Felicity's phone broke it. Felicity immediately reached into her jean pocket and pulled out her phone. "It's Sara, she's on her way. I say we go downstairs and analyze our plan. We need to make sure that everyone's on the same page before we head off to New York." Felicity explained as she started to message Sara back.

"So you're moving the mission to New York? It's already been settled? Shouldn't we wait for Mr. Lance to get back? Sara hasn't heard from him yet, has she?" Tommy wondered as he placed his hands in his pockets and then looked back at Felicity, waiting for her response.

"Well, his plane left about less than an hour ago, so, no, she hasn't. It's almost four in the morning; if we leave once Sara gets here, we'll be in New York by six. Honestly, we've waited way too long; we should've gone to New York much sooner." Felicity responded as she sighed out of frustration.

"Then I'm coming with…" Tommy started to say before a loud bang interrupted them, forcing him to stop speaking immediately. Oliver quickly stood up on his feet and walked to stand in front of Felicity as Diggle quickly reached for his gun.

"Go downstairs." Oliver whispered as he turned his head slightly, looking at both Tommy and Felicity. Neither one of them listened to him.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." A man said as he started to approach them. The dim lighting of the club made it rather hard to see whose voice it was. It was not until he got closer to them and became slightly more visible.

Oliver could not believe it. At first, he was not sure if it was just another hallucination, but Felicity's loud gasp made him realize that everything that was happening was, in fact, real.

"Slade…" Oliver started to say, but stopped once he saw Slade dragging Laurel by her tied hands behind him. Once she was positioned in front of him, he quickly placed a gun to her head. Felicity started to cry once she saw Laurel.

Oliver was slowly starting to explode with rage as he saw just how weak and vulnerable Laurel looked. His hands formed into angry fists once he glanced at her appearance. Blue and purple marks covered the skin around her eyes. Tears had left their evident mark on both sides of her face while more purple, red, and blue marks covered the rest of her body. He could also see blood dripping from the few gaping wounds that were visible in the dim lighting of the club. It surely looked like she was bleeding all over. "Slade, I'll fucking kill you!" Oliver started to violently make his way over to Slade.

"You move, and I shoot." Slade warned as he pressed the gun into the back of Laurel's head as she knelt. Oliver immediately stopped in his tracks.

"Slade, let her go." Oliver said as he continued to look at Laurel, feeling more helpless than ever.

Slade let out a bitter laugh. "You see, I thought I would do the same thing to you. Have you choose between this one…" He pushed Laurel's head with the gun as she slowly started to shake with fear. "And someone else…Anyone else, really…But you see, kid, I thought long and hard about how I'd do this…How I'd destroy you…And then, it finally hit me. You don't need to be given a choice or have me kill everyone close to you, because as long as I kill her, your entire world crumbles to pieces. She's your heart, your soul, your everything…She's your entire world...And once she's gone, then you'll truly have nothing. "

"Slade, this is between you and me…Let her go..."

"No...You see, kid, she's the key to your destruction."

"Oliver…" Laurel finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. Hearing her voice took every part of his being to stop him from running over to her, saving her from this entire mess. "It's me you want...Please don't hurt him, please...Leave him out of this..." She slightly turned to look at Slade. She would never really admit it out load, but Oliver was her everything, and because of that, she would do anything for him. Even if it meant sacrificing her life for him.

"Wow...After all of the shitty things you've done to her...My, my...She was definitely a keeper, this one."

"Slade, let her go. It's me you're mad at, not her." Oliver was angry. He would rather die than let anyone bring any harm to her.

"Once I kill her, you lose it all."

"Slade, let her go!"

"Oh, and kill you instead? I'm sure you would want nothing more than that, but killing you is an easy way out. Killing you would simply be a release from this life, you wouldn't suffer, you'd feel no pain…No, no, kid, that's way too easy." Slade gave them a smug smirk that forced Felicity to swallow her breath as they all stood there, almost frozen in time, afraid to make any wrong move. "I kill the love of your life, just like you killed my Shado, and…"

"I tried to save her…I tried to save them both…"

"Is that what helps you sleep at night, kid? You pathetic son of a bitch!" Clearly, Oliver had made matters worse since a vehement facial expression formed on Slade's face.

"Slade, don't do this! Is this what Shado would want?" Slade simply glared at him.

"How the hell would you know what she would want? She was nothing to you! She was simply another piece of ass while you tried to figure out a way to get back to this one, who you, apparently, claimed was the love of your life."

Before Oliver opened his mouth to speak, Sara immediately came in and lunged herself at Slade, catching him off guard completely. Diggle and Oliver rapidly started to run in her direction as gunshots were fired. Felicity simply screamed. Tommy pulled her tightly into his arms as he started to run into the chaos so that he could get to Laurel, who was now lying on the floor, unconscious.

Oliver quickly beat him to it. Kneeling beside her, he lifted her up slightly and placed a kiss on her temple. "You're going to be okay, I promise." He tried to smooth out a few stray strands of her hair, tucking them gently behind her ear.

"Holy shit! He shot her!" Tommy exclaimed, still in a state of disbelief. He and Felicity quickly knelt beside Oliver.

"Get her out of here. Felicity, call 9-1-1." Oliver whispered to them as gave her one last kiss on her tear-stained cheeks. "I love you, forever and for always." He whispered, his lips pressed against her ear. With a heavy heart, he looked at Laurel one last time and then at Tommy before he caringly handed her to him as he got up to help Sara and Diggle.

Tommy and Felicity reacted quickly as Tommy lifted her up into his arms and ran in the safest direction possible to get her downstairs quickly.

* * *

Felicity could not stop crying as she watched Tommy place Laurel on the long metal table and start to take care of her once they had made it downstairs."She's ice-cold." Tommy stated as he grabbed a hold of Laurel's frigid hand. "Oh, God, her pulse is weak."

"Put pressure on the wound, I'm going to find something for her to wear." Felicity said, her voice still trembling with cries as she took her hand off the gunshot wound and waited for Tommy to place his hand on it. She tearfully looked at Laurel. Her heart broke for her as she studied her appearance. Still left in her bra and panties, her body battered and bruised, Felicity could not help but cry harder.

She quickly walked around the lair as she searched for Oliver's clothes. Finally finding a gray T-shirt and a small blanket, she quickly walked back to Tommy and Laurel.

With his hand still on the gaping wound, he lifted Laurel up slightly so that Felicity could put the T-shirt on her and then cover her with the blanket. A few minutes later, Felicity could feel something pull at her pink blouse. Looking down, she saw that it was Laurel's hand. She quickly looked back up, her eyes connecting with Laurel's as she grasped her hand. "Laurel, stay with me, okay? You're going to be fine."

As hard as it was, Laurel opened her eyes slightly. "Felicity, Tommy." Laurel said, her voice painfully low and weak. Tommy quickly grabbed Laurel's other hand, interlocking his fingers with hers while his other hand continued to place pressure on the gunshot wound around her belly area.

"You, Dinah Laurel Lance, are going to be okay." Tommy assured her as he tried to give her the happiest smile possible.

"No, I won't…" Laurel faintly replied. "Felicity, Tommy, promise…" Still very weak, she started to cough lightly as she struggled to speak. "Promise me that you'll take care of Oliver…" Laurel closed her eyes as fresh tears started to stream down her face.

"Laurel…" Felicity cried as she tightened her grip.

"No, please, promise me…"

"Laurel, don't do this…" Tommy added as he let go of her hand and brought it up to cup her cheek, wiping the tears that fell.

"Promise me that you'll take care of him."

"Laurel…" Felicity started to say as she briefly closed her eyes.

"Promise me, please...And tell him that I love him..." A fresh set of tears fell from her eyes. "I never stopped loving him..." They both reluctantly nodded. When she started to struggle with keeping her eyes open, that was when they both started to panic.

"Laurel!" Tommy screamed as her eyes remained closed.

"I'm going to go be with Sara; she's waiting for me." Despite her pain-ridden face, and with her eyes still closed, she gave them one last smile.

"Laurel, no, no, Sara's here, she's alive. No, no, no, Laurel, please open your eyes. Please." Felicity cried hysterically as Tommy's eyes started to well up with tears.

* * *

"Laurel…" They were so consumed with emotion that they did not even hear Oliver run to them once he had finally made his way downstairs a few minutes later.

Once he got to Laurel, he pulled her up slightly and held her in his arms. "Laurel, don't you dare leave me! Please, don't you dare leave me, damn it, Laurel!" He was shaking her hard as way to wake her up, doing anything to get her out of her lifeless state.

Felicity and Tommy had now let go of Laurel's hands and were holding onto each other as they both cried for their best friend.

"Wake up, Laurel! LAUREL, WAKE UP!" Oliver was still shaking her as he screamed. He wanted nothing more than for her to open her beautiful blue eyes and have them staring back at him. "Laurel, please don't leave me! I can't live without you, Laurel! I need you in my life. Baby, please, come back to me...Please…" He brought his hands up to hold her head before pulling her back into his arms as he tightly held her. "Laurel…" He closed his eyes as he prayed and begged for her to come back to him.

He simply could not lose her forever. It would truly kill him whole. If living meant living without Laurel, than he could not do it. He was simply incapable of that because she was the only one who could complete him. They had been and always will be two parts of the same whole.


End file.
